South Dakota's Participation in the Spanish-American War This history of South Dakota's participation in the Spanish- American War appears in Chapter LXX of "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904), pages 363-385 and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm CHAPTER LXX THE WAR WITH SPAIN For the following account of the war with Spain and South Dakota's part in it the editor is under obligations to Hon. Marion L. Fox; of Vermilion, who went to the Philippines in the summer of 1899 and secured at first hand the story of the important campaigns of the First South Dakota Infantry there. The facts were approved to Mr. Fox by Colonel Frost and, Lieutenant Colonel Stover and have been supplemented by the recollections and diaries of Major Howard, Captain Englesby, Chaplain Daley and others. In the main the story is as it came from the pen of Mr. Fox, and has not before been published PREFATORY NOTE. "In the spring of 1899, while enroute from Chicago with Congressman C. H. Burke, a conversation arose as to the Philippine situation, lack of information about the islands and the opportunity of a voyage there on a government transport. Mr. Burke informed me that permission for such transportation was readily granted to civilians by the war department, provided always that there was no interference with the government service and that such civilian pay the expense of board and service while aboard the ship. I asked Mr. Burke to get such a permit for me. He made application. At the same time I asked Senator R. F. Pettigrew to make a similar request. The permit was given on the ground that I was going to the Philippines commissioned to mark the graves of the South Dakota volunteers, who had fallen in battle or who had died from disease. Of such provision I had no knowledge until advised by Senator Pettigrew, which was followed by a commission by Governor Lee. "Both Senator Pettigrew and Governor Lee had been informed that little attention had been paid to marking the graves of the South Dakotans who had fallen in battle. Such stories were common in the presidio in San Francisco, where I had my first opportunity to make inquiry. "I found, however, on arriving in the Philippines that the dead had been brought to Manilla and carefully interred, their vaults numbered and a record of numbers, names and dates kept by the chaplain of the regiment. "The permit for transportation would have been given me just as readily as a journalist, as there were three newspaper men aboard and eleven other civilians. "We all paid our pro rata of the expenses incurred on account of our presence aboard the transport 'Sherman.' I returned by the 'Centennial' under the same conditions. ",M. L. Fox." Under the President's first call for volunteers for the war with Spain, South Dakota's quota would have been about eight hundred fifty men. But owing to the outrages perpetrated by Spain on the Cubans, and the blowing up of the battleship "Maine," while on a friendly visit to Havana harbor, the people of South Dakota were blazing with anger and filled with patriotic fervor. Through the earnest requests of Governor Andrew E. Lee, ably seconded by the South Dakota delegation at Washington, the war department was induced to call upon South Dakota for a full regiment of volunteer infantry. In communicating the call, Adjutant General Corbin suggested that the state militia organizations be utilized as far as possible. Recognizing the fact that politics had been the bane of volunteer organizations in the past, Governor Lee determined that party affiliation should have nothing to do with the South Dakota volunteers, and that the men who were to experience the actual hardships of war should choose their officers, so far as practicable, although the act of congress authorizing the call for volunteers had vested in the governors of the states the power to appoint all officers of the line. The officers of the state militia, without exception, asked that Lieutenant Alfred S. Frost, of the regular army, be made colonel of the regiment. No sooner had Governor Lee signified his purpose to comply with this request than Lieutenant Frost, who had been on detailed-duty in South Dakota, was ordered to join his regiment at Chattanooga. Enroute he received an order to report to the Governor of South Dakota, which order was revoked before he had an opportunity to board the west-bound train. He was aboard a Chattanooga-bound train in compliance with the original order when he received another telegram directing him to report to the Governor of South Dakota. Quitting his southward journey he boarded the first train for the west and had traveled only a few hours in that direction when he received another telegram from the war department ordering him to join his regiment at Chattanooga. Boarding the next south-bound train, he was allowed to reach his regiment before the war department had another opportunity to change its mind. But the waiting was not long. Before he had time to settle down to duty, another telegram from the war department directed him to report to the Governor of South Dakota. This order was final and Frost was commissioned colonel of the First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry. The contradictory orders were the result of a fight by Senator Kyle to have Colonel Mark W. Sheafe retained as colonel of the regiment. The state militia were ordered to mobilize at Sioux Falls April 30, 1898, and a recruiting officer from Fort Meade arrived to muster them in. Rigid medical examinations were insisted upon and only the strongest and most healthy officers and men were allowed to enlist. The wisdom of this course was fully justified by time. In the arduous campaign in the Philippines the most perfect manhood was required to endure the long marches through jungle and bog under the suffocating heat of a tropical sun. When completed the organization of the regiment was as follows: Colonel, A. S. Frost; lieutenant colonel, Lee Stover, commanding First Battalion; major, Chas. A. Howard, commanding Second Battalion; major, William F. Allison, commanding Third Battalion; major and surgeon, R. C. Warne, chief surgeon; first lieutenant and adjutant, Jonas H. Lien; first lieutenant and quartermaster, Henry Murry: captain and assistant surgeon, A. H. Bowman; captain and assistant surgeon, Fred W. Cox; chaplain, Charles M. Daley; sergeant major, Roy W. Stover; quartermaster sergeant, M. D. McMahon; chief musician, F. M. Halstead; principal musician, F. A. Schroeder; second principal musician, C. E. Mulineux; hospital stewards, H. J. Booker, C. F. Clancey and H. M. Fletcher. The company organizations were as follows: Company A - A. L. Fuller, captain; E. A. Harting, first lieutenant; M. M. Zell, Guthrie, second lieutenant; Company B - A. B. Sessions, captain; J. C. Fox, first lieutenant; E. E. Hawkins, second lieutenant; Company C - William S. Gray, captain; Leo F. Foster, first lieutenant; Sam T. Larsen, second lieutenant; Company D - C. P. Van Houten, captain; L. V. Dynna, first lieutenant; George G. Jennings, second lieutenant; Company E - George W. Lattin, captain; J. H. Hubbard, first lieutenant; Sidney E. Morrison, second lieutenant; Company F - C. L. Brockway, captain; Palmer D. Sheldon, first lieutenant; Fred G. Huntington, second lieutenant; Company G - R. R. McGregor, captain; O. M. Fisk, first lieutenant; Wm. A. Hazel, second lieutenant; Company H - C. H. Englesby, captain; F. H. Adams, first lieutenant; F. L. Burdick, second lieutenant; Company I - Charles L. Denny, captain; P. D. McClellan, first lieutenant; H. L. Bates, second lieutenant; Company K - H. A. Hegeman, captain; Geo. W. Roskie, first lieutenant; O. F. Smith, second lieutenant; Company L - Wm. McLaughlin, captain; J. Q. A. Braden, first lieutenant; George A. Crabtree, second lieutenant; Company M - F. W. Medbery, captain; Chas. S. Hunt, first lieutenant; E. E. Young, second lieutenant. The organization of the volunteer regiment from the state militia was not accomplished without difficulty. During long years of peace the people of the state had come to regard the militia as useless, and maintained purely for the sake of parade, therefore, no money had been appropriated for its maintenance by the legislature of 1897 nor for the year before. To bring one thousand men together from the extremes of a state like South Dakota required a large outlay of money for railroad fare and for rations and other supplies while enroute and in camp. Not one dollar was available to meet such expenditure, and many well meaning people believed an extra session of the legislature indispensable. To call the legislature in extraordinary session would require time and entail a large expenditure of public money beyond whatever might be appropriated for the expense of organizing the volunteers. To meet the emergency C. A. Jewett, of the wholesale grocery firm of Jewett Bros. &: Jewett, B. H. Lien, the State Bank & Trust Company, the Sioux Falls National Bank, the Sioux Falls Savings Bank and the Minnehaha National Bank, all of Sioux Falls, advanced one thousand dollars each to Governor Lee. The example was followed by the First National Bank and the American National and the First National Bank of Deadwood, the Pierre National Bank and the Bank of Commerce of Pierre, aggregating from all sources, eleven thousand dollars. The total expenditure falling immediately upon the state was a little more than fourteen thousand dollars, the remainder of the sum being advanced for the use of the state by Governor Lee. The regiment remained in camp at Sioux Falls for a month, lacking one day, during which time the rains were frequent and heavy and the nights chilly and uncomfortable. The order to leave for San Francisco was therefore hailed with delight, and on the morning of May 28th, in the midst of a pouring rain, the boys of the First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry boarded their trains and bade farewell to home, family and friends. During the encampment at Sioux Falls only indifferent discipline had been maintained, but when the regiment got outside the circle of home influence, Colonel Frost began to tighten the reins. His first requirement was that the officers should separate themselves from the privates and that communications with them should be official only. This order caused much ill feeling, owing to the fact that a large percentage of the officers and the privates were personal friends at home, and had been in the habit of meeting on a footing of easy familiarity. A little thought will show that such order was not given for the purpose of breeding snobbishness in the officers nor to humiliate the privates. Few officers can maintain the respect of their men and at the same time meet them on a familiar footing. Such a course also invariably causes favoritism, and nothing could be more fatal to discipline. If an officer drink, smoke and play cards with his men, he will draw around him seven or eight who are more congenial than the others, and unless he be made of sterner stuff than most men he will soon have a kitchen cabinet in his company. That may be very pleasant for the cabinet, but it will not find favor with a company. The wisdom of this order by Colonel Frost soon became to be understood by the officers and was recognized in time by the privates. The regiment arrived in San Francisco on June 2d, and was encamped in one of the most inconvenient and unhealthy places about the city. This was done at the request of a street car magnate who wanted to help out his business by carrying soldiers and visitors over his lines. The health of the men became bad and the medical department found it difficult to get supplies. The regiment was happy in having the services of Dr. Warne as chief surgeon. He was not only a capable officer professionally, but had great executive ability. Major Warne found the medical department so hedged about with red tape that the simplest requisitions would not be filled for days, and had it hot been for the Red Cross Society the sick would have suffered for the simplest medicines. Getting tired of sending requisitions to the deputy surgeon general, to have them returned with the endorsement "Not made out in proper form," Major Warne addressed a letter to the assistant adjutant general, setting forth the manner in which the service was hampered by red tape. The bad consequences were outlined and a change of policy requested. The letter was productive of immediate results. No more requisitions were returned because they were not in proper form and the government began to supply its sick with medicines instead of relying upon the stores of the Red Cross. The discipline maintained at San Francisco was of the most rigid kind. The men were drilled for five hours a day and leaves to go into the city were seldom given. For this course there were two reasons; the volunteers needed to be disciplined and toughened into trained soldiers and even more necessary was it to keep them from the temptations of a great city like San Francisco. This again caused friction. The regiment was composed of men who had seen little of the world, for the most part, and the sights of San Francisco appealed to them strongly. They were independent men, or, at least, had been so before enlistment, but felt themselves capable of judging as to their personal conduct. The hard drills had shown their effect. Colonel Frost said: "After six weeks' drill in San Francisco I considered the First South Dakota Infantry the peer of any regiment I had ever seen. Its moral tone was certainly higher than that of any regiment with which I had ever served." Whatever the objections may have been to the rigid discipline and hard drill imposed by Colonel Frost, there were compensating advantages. Not only was the health of the regiment better than that of other regiments in camp at San Francisco, but its superior moral tone was the occasion of remark. When the Second and Third Battalions were embarking for Manilla, a San Francisco newspaper man said it was the first embarkation by a military force at that port where there had not been drunken men to carry aboard. In Honolulu the deportment of the regiment provoked like favorable comments. While they were given entire liberty during the day, each evening every man was in place when the assembly was sounded. When soldiers will not go astray in the beautiful, free and easy city of Honolulu their discipline must be excellent indeed! But the same record was made in Cavite when the South Dakota soldiers made their first camp in the Philippines, August 25, 1898. The general efficiency of the regiment had impressed the commanding general and on the 10th day of September when trouble with Aguinaldo was first expected the South Dakotans were selected as the best fitted of all the soldiers in the Philippines to take the field and were taken to Manilla and held under marching orders until the crisis had passed. The regiment was quartered in Manilla as follows: The First and Third Battalions in San Miguel, then considered the finest residence district in the city, and the Second Battalion was encamped in the Malacanan grounds, the residence of the governor general. As a further mark of distinction, the regiment was required to furnish guards for Major General Otis, Major General McArthur and Brigadier General Hale. This compliment to the men of South Dakota caused Colonel Frost to be more exacting in his requirements and the men were ordered to be uniformed in white, have their shoes shined, their faces clean shaven and their arms and accouterments perfectly spotless when they went on guard. This was so noticeably different from other regiments that the First South Dakota became known in Manilla as the "dress parade regiment." It is needless to say that such requirements could not be enforced with provoking animadversion and they became the subject of newspaper comment at home. But the First South Dakota was no more distinguished for its discipline and dress than in other respects. The men were better fed than the men of the other volunteer regiments. At a time when the regiments were complaining of the ration received, the officers of the First South Dakota were watching the meals so closely and were preparing the bills of fare so judiciously that the men were better fed than had ever been the lot of soldiers in the field before. The chief commissary officer asked Colonel Frost for bills of fare for one week to send to Washington to show what could be done with an ordinary government ration. It should not be understood that the food for the soldiers in the Philippines had been what common sense should have dictated. The quantity supplied had been abundant and the quality was all that could be desired for soldiers in a temperate or cold climate, but the government ration was in nowise suited to the tropics. That fact was pointed out to the authorities by medical men over and over again. But red tape did its deadly work and soldiers went on eating pork, beans and potatoes in a climate where they should have had fish and fruits and light vegetable diet. Major and Surgeon Louis L. Seaman, of New York, who had studied dietetics in every climate, said to General Otis and his staff that it would be just as sensible to put a Filipino at the north pole and expect him to keep warm eating fish, rice, mangoes and bananas, as to expect American soldiers to keep cool and well in the tropics eating hog and hominy. Major Warne, of the South Dakotas, urged the same views upon the government's responsible representatives, but all such advice was ignored, and the constant report to Washington was, "We have in the Philippines the best fed army in the world." This stupidity cost more lives than all the Filipino bullets. During the month of December relations between the American and Filipino soldiers became greatly strained. Colonel Frost believed that hostilities might commence at any time, consequently the liberties of the men were more restricted. They were required to be in their quarters constantly prepared for an emergency. The relations between the Americans and the Filipinos became much more strained after General Otis issued his proclamation of January 4, 1899, assuming control of the Philippine islands and announcing in diplomatic terms the fact that the government would be a military dictatorship. The Filipinos wanted liberty and Aguinaldo charged that the pledges made the Filipinos by Consuls Williams and Wildman had been violated. General Otis ordered the American soldiers to pursue a pacific policy and do nothing that would aggravate the bad feeling. Forbearance by the Americans was mistaken by the Filipinos for cowardice and in consequence all the insulting epithets which come so easily to the tongue of the oriental was heaped upon our volunteers. On January 7th Aguinaldo issued his proclamation declaring himself commandant of the Philippines and asserting that General Otis was an usurper. The first act of hostility by the Filipinos toward the South Dakotans occurred near Block House 4 on the night of January 10th and came near costing Private Smith, of Company E, his life. Smith was sentinel on outpost when he was approached by two Filipinos. Just as they were passing one of them made a vicious stroke at Smith with a bolo, a short heavy sword carried by the natives. Smith dodged just enough to save his head from being split open, and received a bad cut down the side of his head and face. It was against orders for a sentry to keep his gun loaded, but Smith had disobeyed orders and quick as lightning he brought the Springfield to his shoulder and shot the nearest Filipino dead. Shoving another cartridge into his gun, he fired at the other Filipino, who was running just as rapidly as his legs could carry him. That the shot took effect was shown by a trail of blood found the next morning, but how badly the would-be murderer was wounded was never learned. From the time General Otis issued his proclamation the South Dakotans were required to sleep in their clothes. It was a long month of vigil and alarms, trying alike to the nerves and the patience of the officers and men. More and more insulting became the Filipinos. "Americano coward" was shouted from the Filipino trenches and it was common for our soldiers to hear that one Filipino could lick five of them. The tempers of the Americans were sorely tried, and it was only by excellent discipline that serious riots were averted. At last the clash came. On the night of February 4th, about eight o'clock, Private Grayson, of the Nebraskans, shot and killed a Filipino lieutenant, who did not halt when ordered. The Filipino outpost at once fired on the Nebraska outpost, and within a few minutes a battle was raging round the entire city. The battle began near the South Dakota outpost, under command of Lieutenant Foster, which was under a heavy fire almost immediately. Colonel Frost hastily assembled his men and, leaving four companies to guard the district, he hurried forward eight companies to the support of the outpost. The small force there had been hard pressed and. were hastily drawn in by Lieutenant Foster. Colonel Frost deployed Companies F and I, the former under Captain Brockway and the latter commanded by Lieutenant McClelland, and pushed them to the extreme limit of the outpost without opposition. The remaining six companies were held in reserve about one-half mile in the rear. Immediately in front of the outpost was Block House No. 4, held by a strong force of Filipinos. Colonel Frost wished to take the block house, but was not certain of his authority and was starting back to telegraph for instructions when he met General Hale, the brigade commander, and asked if it was desired that the South Dakotans take the offensive. The General said "No" and rode with Colonel Frost to the outpost, which he ordered left there with a guard to hold the position. He ordered the remainder of the regiment to march to the telegraph office, about a mile to the rear, and wait orders. Later the companies with Colonel Frost were ordered to their quarters. But what of the outpost? Parts of Companies F and I had been left under Lieutenant Colonel Stover to hold the position and with them, at Colonel Stover's request, was the regimental adjutant, Lieutenant Jonas H. Lien. The position was exposed to an oblique fire from Block House No. 4 and the Chinese hospital, both occupied by Filipinos armed with Mauser rifles. The position was known as "the island," it being a long narrow strip of ground covered with bamboo and flanked by rice fields which looked like a surrounding sea. There were no earthworks or other shelter from the Filipino fire. Lieutenant Colonel Stover threw out sentinels and the men laid themselves down in a semi-circle, a portion facing the block house and the remainder facing the Chinese hospital. At one A. M. on the morning of February 5th the sentinels, or Cossack posts, were relieved, just as a bright tropical moon was rising, touching jungle and field with its soft light. All remained quiet until about three o'clock, when, without any previous warning, the entire Filipino line opened a heavy rifle fire. Within a few minutes two men of Company I were killed and another seriously wounded. The Pennsylvania regiment, on Stover's left, opened fire on the Chinese hospital; thus diverting part of the Filipino fire from the outpost. A slight change was made by Stover in the disposition of his little force, shielding it somewhat from the block house fire. Here came a most severe test of discipline. The men were ordered not to return the Filipino fire, as the flash and white smoke of the black powder used in the Springfield rifles would clearly outline the position of the little band and expose them to annihilation by the fire from the enemy's earthworks and the block house. Lieutenant Colonel Stover, Adjutant Lien and Lieutenant Jennings walked constantly along the line in the rear of the men encouraging them and cautioning them to hold their fire unless the Filipinos should try to advance. Meanwhile the deadly hail of bullets was kept up, nothing indicating the position of the Filipino lines except the slight flash of their rifles resembling the glint of a firefly. Lieutenant Colonel Stover and Adjutant Lien had just stepped to a position where Stover's horse was hitched, when a bullet broke the poor brute's leg, making it necessary that it be killed. After the firing had been kept up for about thirty minutes a courier arrived from General Hale instructing Colonel Stover to hold the position at all hazards. It was the key to the situation, and had the position been forced it would have opened the nearest road for the Filipinos to reach the business portion of Manilla. Sergeant Major Doolittle was ordered by Colonel Stover to go to the telegraph office in the Colorado lines, about one mile away, and report that the outpost would be held to the last man, but that reinforcements should be sent at once, as the distance on each wing to the American forces would allow the enemy to pass between them and outflank him. The duty assigned to Doolittle was a dangerous one The moon was shining bright, and there were many patches of open ground to be crossed within close range of the Filipino rifles. He made the trip safely, being under fire for a mile. It was a dangerous feat, but it was a military necessity, and Doolittle was destined to again distinguish himself before morning and win a promotion to second lieutenant. As soon as firing began the South Dakotans began to look about for means of entrenchment. They loosened the ground with their bayonets and began scraping it up in front of them with their army plates. It was slow work in the hard ground and Adjutant Lien remarked to Colonel Stover that there were a few tools in a reserve tent about a half mile to the rear and offered to go after them himself, which, he said, would prevent sending a man from the firing line. Sergeant Major Doolittle overheard the conversation and volunteered to go. Lieutenant Colonel Stover hesitated to give permission owing to the exposure in passing over the open ground so close to the Filipino forces. But Doolittle did not wait for permission. He set off across the rice-fields with the bullets singing about his head like a swarm of bees. He soon returned with the tools and work on the entrenchment began in earnest. The earthworks were constructed from one clump of bamboo to another, the men taking advantage of the ground and working in the shadows when possible. Lieutenant Colonel Stover had walked to one end of the semicircle to see how everything was getting along when the enemy's fire suddenly freshened up. He returned to his position near the center where he found Adjutant Lien in the middle of the largest open space digging like a section hand, and as cool as such work in a tropical climate would admit. The rest may well be told in Colonel Stover's own language. "I asked: 'What are you doing there, Mr. Lien?' " said Colonel Stover. " 'Did I not leave you in charge of the end of the line?' 'Yes,' said Lien, meekly, 'but as soon as the boys began digging in the moonlight the Filipinos began a heavy fire from the block house. I was afraid some of the boys would be hit, so I ordered them into the shadows and began the work myself.' "That," added Colonel Stover, "was the only act of disobedience which- occurred that night." It was characteristic of Adjutant Lien, who had the courage of a bulldog and the tender heart of a woman. He exposed himself recklessly, but was always afraid some of the boys would get hurt. While the men loved Lien, it was but natural that they should get angry when he made them quit work in the open while he threw up the earthwork himself. The Filipino fire slackened about four o'clock in the morning and was being kept up in a desultory way only, when Colonel Frost arrived at five o'clock with six companies within about one half mile of the outpost and reported to General Hale that he waited orders. While waiting, Colonel Frost posted Company H on the right of the old outpost guard and G on the right of H, nearly at right angles to it. M was placed on right of G and Company A was placed in front of a small plantation about one hundred and fifty yards to the right of M. L and K companies were held in reserve under the slope of the hill. Meanwhile Major Howard was sent to relieve Lieutenant Colonel Stover, who, with Adjutant Lien. reported to Colonel Frost and asked him to look over the situation. Colonel Frost, with Adjutant Lien, rode to where the outpost had been located during the night. He found that Major Howard had changed the position of the troops to a more sheltered one. The fire on the night of February 4th by the Filipinos had not been bloodless for the South Dakotans. Privates William G. Lowes and Fred E. Green, of Company I, were killed and Arthur E. Haskell, of Company I, was wounded. When Colonel Frost and Adjutant Lien started back from the outpost, a little after daylight, Filipino bullets were whistling around their heads at such a rate that a detour was thought best, instead of going across the exposed country fronting the block house and the Filipino earthworks. On reaching headquarters Colonel Frost sent word to General Hale that he was waiting orders. At nine fifteen A. M. General Hale sent his aide to Colonel Frost with an order which was not an order, but a shifting of responsibility, from his own shoulders to those of the colonel of the South Dakotas. He said he would have five shots fired by the artillery at the block house and five at the entrenchment, after which, if Colonel Frost thought proper, he might charge. The Colonel formed the regiment with Lieutenant Colonel Stover in charge of the right, Major Howard in charge of the left, while he personally commanded center. The artillery fired five shots at the block house, only two taking effect with slight damage. Two shots were then fired at the earthworks, with a long interval between the shots. After waiting impatiently for the third shot, Colonel Frost placed Company L in the gap between Companies A and M and Company K in echelon on the right rear of the line and ordered a charge. The men sprang forward eagerly, halting twice to fire. They carried the earthworks and rushed to the block house. The enemy fired a few shots and then retreated for shelter in the woods. The South Dakotans rushed around the block house and fired at the retreating Filipinos, bringing down four of them, one of whom died afterwards. Having orders not to advance beyond the block house, Colonel Frost halted his men for a breathing spell. At eleven A. M., while resting, the South Dakotas saw the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment move out on the left and take the Chinese hospital and disappear in the woods beyond. There was continued and heavy firing in their direction, but the South Dakotas could not see what the fight was about. At 3 P. M. Colonel Frost received an order from General McArthur to form on the right of the Pennsylvania regiment and advance. Companies A, F and I were left to guard the flank under Major Howard, and the other five companies were formed in line of battle with Colonel Frost in command of the left; Lieutenant Colonel Stover in charge of the right, while Adjutant Lien worked along the line between the superior officers. The line moved forward in skirmish order, the center company guiding on the right dome of La Loma church. The advance was maintained at quick time for about eight hundred yards, under fire all the while without returning it. The men were panting and exhausted, and where there was a sunken road running across the front of the line Colonel Frost ordered the men to lie down and return the enemy's fire; at the same time the volunteers were given an opportunity to rest for a moment. The fire from the Filipino force in the church was terrific, though high. As one of the privates expressed it, "the boys had a roof of lead over them." After firing a few rounds Colonel Frost ordered an advance with quick time. The men dashed forward about one hundred yards' when they were again ordered to lie down and fire. Three volleys were fired, when another advance was ordered in quick time, the men firing as they advanced. Just then Colonel Frost saw the Tenth Pennsylvania, which he had passed, on his left in the rear pouring in a heavy fire. Considering the fire dangerous to the South Dakotans, he called them to advance to the firing line. For some reason the volunteers from the Keystone state paid no heed, but continued to fire from the rear. Colonel Frost was afraid to advance with such a fire in his rear, so he shouted louder and louder. Finally swearing at them in a vigorous manner, and calling them some most unmilitary names, he ordered them to come on the line or quit firing. But the Pennsylvanians neither advanced nor slackened their fire. In desperation, Colonel Frost sent Adjutant Lien over to induce the Pennsylvanians to move forward to the line. About a score got up and moved forward after the Adjutant, but returned to their own line when they found they were not followed by their comrades. The South Dakotans had been pouring heavy volleys into the Filipinos while they were waiting, but now advanced again, charging some hurdle work entrenchments from which the fire had been most active. The South Dakotans ran forward with a yell, going over the trenches and driving the Filipinos before them in a panic. The enemy ran for shelter behind the wall of the church, but the volunteers were too swift for them and more than fifty were killed in front of the church. The South Dakotans rushed over the walls and round the flanks and through the yard, carrying all before them. When Colonel Frost was standing on the wall surrounding the church, he saw Colonel Hawkins, of the Tenth Pennsylvania, with a small force of his men, come up under the wall from which the enemy had been driven. This is mentioned because on the day following the fight an effort was made by the Keystone volunteers to claim the credit of having captured La Loma church. Colonel Hawkins and his men took the Chinese hospital in gallant style, for which they should be given ample praise, but their conduct was not creditable in front of La Loma church and their effort to rob the South Dakotans of well earned glory was despicable. Colonel Frost sounded his assembly and drew his men to the right of the church and moved after the Filipinos, driving them in the direction of Caloocan. Arriving on the crest of the hill, he observed that both flanks were exposed and halted his men to wait further orders. Colonel Hawkins, who was at Block House No. 2, with part of his force, sent word to Colonel Frost that orders had been received to retire. Seeing him fall back, Colonel Frost formed his force in a column of fours and moved in the same direction. On the march he met General McArthur, who demanded, with considerable asperity in his tone, to know why Colonel Frost was there. The Colonel replied that he had taken La Loma church. The General asked if the left flank had not been left open. The Colonel said it had not, but had been well guarded by three companies. The General looked, over the ground, covered with dead Filipinos, and said, "There are plenty of indications that South Dakota has done good work to-day." During the fight Private H. J. McCrackan, of Company H, was killed and Private Frank T. McLain, of Company G, Hiram W. Fay, of Company I, Benj. B. Phelps, of Company K, and Eugene E. Stevens, of Company K. were wounded. From the time the fighting began on the evening of February 4th, in front of Block House No. 4, until the La Loma church was taken in the afternoon of the 5th, the South Dakotans had been under the hottest fire and had done the hardest fighting. Their discipline was perfect and their courage superb. Colonel Frost was ordered to hold the entrenched line with Block House No. 4 near the center, with the left extended to within three quarters of a mile of La Loma church and the right nearly to Block House No. 5. The Filipinos occupied the town of San Francisco Del Monte, about one mile east of Block House No. 4, from where they poured a constant and most annoying fire into the trenches of the South Dakotans. No move was made until the morning of the 23d, when, at about seven-thirty o'clock, heavy firing was heard on the left of the line, then under command of Major Howard. Lieutenant Colonel Stover had the right of the block house and Colonel Frost took his position with Company B at the center. The attack had been made on the outpost of six men under Lieutenant Hawkins, of Company B, who held the position manfully until Company A, under Captain Fuller, and Company B, under Captain Sessions, came to his relief. The enemy had also attacked Howard, whose battalion replied with a heavy fire from their Springfields and were gallantly supported by part of the Utah Battery. Colonel Frost saw that the enemy could be outflanked and accordingly directed Adjutant Lien to take Companies A and B and the men of the brass hand who had laid aside their wind instruments for the more deadly, if less musical rifle, and move up the ravine, form a line on the crest and pour a flank fire into the enemy. Captain Fuller with A was first in position and as soon as he opened fire the Filipino fire slackened. Captain Sessions with B and the band soon got in line and opened fire, the enemy falling back and moving toward the right. Colonel Frost saw that an effort was being made to outflank the flanking party under Adjutant Lien and had it quickly withdrawn to the trenches. They lad scarcely got to the trenches when a heavy fire swept across the position they had just left. This fire was quickly replied to by the right under Lieutenant Colonel Stover, and the Colorado on his left flank, and soon silenced the enemy in the direction of San Francisco Del Monte. Colonel Frost was much pleased with the conduct of Adjutant Lien and Captains Fuller and Sessions, all of them showing coolness and judgment in handling men under fire. The South Dakotans lost in killed Private Oscar Felker, Company C, and Sergeant William B. Smith, Company M, who was wounded and died within a few hours. The wounded were Privates Fred Tobin, Company B, and Martin Eide, Company M, and Musician Charles Hultberg, Company M. Then came another long period of waiting while the men in the trenches were kept on the alert by the Filipinos, who fired in a desultory way almost daily and nightly. A slight attack occurred on the night of the 27th, but the enemy were driven off, the regiment having two men wounded, Private Herman M. Bellman, of Company B, and Sergeant Robert B. Ross, of Company L. Firing on the outposts was continued and the South Dakotans slept on their arms and in their clothes until March 25th, when the advance on Malolos began. Here I may digress from the story of the campaign to record the death of a brave young officer, Lieutenant E. A. Harting, of Company A, who had been detached from the regiment and was in command of rifles on board the gun boat "Laguna De Bay." On February 14th he was attempting to land a gun on the shore of the Pasig river. As the gun was let down from the gun boat to a small boat in which Harting was standing, the little boat was overturned and he was drowned. On March 25th at daybreak the First and Third Battalions were formed in a skirmish line, the left, under Allison, resting on the sunken road and the right under Stover. Howard's battalion was about four hundred yards in the rear as a reserve. The command was given to advance and the skirmish line and reserve had moved forward about one thousand yards when a heavy fire was opened upon them in front. A few of the men paused as if to fire, and Colonel Frost saw the distance was too great for the Springfield rifles with which his men were armed to be of service, so he ordered Musician Allen to sound "Forward, march." The men obeyed and marched forward steadily, with the Mauser bullets whistling about their ears, until they were in range of the enemy, when they were ordered to fire. After three volleys Colonel Frost ordered another advance. This time the advance was continuous; the men firing as they walked and halting now and then to take deliberate aim. Moving on with inexorable firmness, the force walked right over the Filipino trenches, shooting every dusky defender in sight, and continued to march steadily onward to a road some miles to the northwest of San Francisco Del Monte, where it had been ordered to halt and reform. During the entire distance the Filipinos kept up a fire as they gave way, burning the Nipa huts as they retired. This country was the most favorable for defense over which the regiment ever passed, the lava beds and jungles afforded every opportunity for the enemy to conceal themselves: Frequently whole companies would be compelled to march quite a distance single file through the jungle and form a line when they got to the other side. A few courageous and well disposed men could have defended the country against a whole regiment. The brigade reformed on the road, as ordered, and changed the direction of its march from northeast to north, or nearly so, and moved several miles until another cross road was reached when another order was given to halt and reform the brigade. During that march the Filipinos had kept up a desultory fire at long range as they retreated, which was not returned by the South Dakotans, the distance being much too great for the Springfield rifles to be effective. After reforming, the brigade made a left wheel and marched in a northwesterly direction, receiving a heavy fire as they approached the Tuliahan river. Making no reply, the brigade crossed the river, the South Dakotans leading, and wheeled to the left, moved westward and halted on a ridge facing towards Polo. About dark Colonel Frost received orders to move by the left flank, change direction to the right and close in on an old bridge across the river. The order was executed after dark by men who had then marched and fought more than eighteen miles under a blazing sun, over lava beds and through jungles, without having had scarcely a mouthful to eat. That the men were hungry goes without saying, and the officers were chagrined when they found themselves halted on the right bank of the Tuliahan river, feeling that they had left a strong position for a weak one. They learned later that the division commander had been forced to change his plans because General Wheaton had taken Malinta when he had been ordered to make only a demonstration. the change in direction caused great inconvenience to the men owing to the fact that the baggage train lost its way and failed to come up with provisions. The South Dakotans slept on the ground that night, having had little dinner and no supper and getting no breakfast in the morning. During the day's march the only casualty suffered by the South Dakotans was a severe wound received by Private Walter E. Brown, of Company G. The Filipinos shot too high all the while, and the severest loss of the day was sustained by the Fourth Infantry, held in reserve, who had several men hit by the enemy's long range fire. The South Dakotans counted more than one hundred dead Filipinos left on the field where they got in range of the Springfield rifles. How to supply the regiment with food on its march was a serious problem to be solved by Quartermaster Burdick. He began by impressing into his service every buffalo cart he could find, supplementing his carrying force with Chinese coolies. By following Lieutenant Burdick's example, a Kanaka protege of the South Dakotans got in serious trouble. When the regiment left Honolulu enroute for Manila, three Kanaka stowaways were found aboard. There was no way to get them ashore, so they were adopted into the regiment, along with the goat and other mascots. Only the goat's chief employment was to eat "Christian Heralds," distributed by Chaplain Daley, while the Kanakas were put to work in the kitchen. In Manila they had been given revolvers to protect themselves from the Malay bolos. When one of these youthful adventurers saw the quartermaster forcibly taking possession of carts, he concluded the example was worthy of emulation and proceeded to seize a carametta and native pony, ejecting the driver at the point of a revolver. The driver was an "amigo" and he howled loud and long. The Kanaka was arrested for robbery, tried before a military court and sentenced to two years in Bilibid prison, the Luzon penitentiary. The other Kanakas behaved well. One of them, "George," was the servant of Captain Sessions and became almost invaluable. He was never sick a day, was strong physically and bright mentally. He was on every battlefield where Company B was engaged and helped care for the wounded all along the line, exposing himself with the utmost sangfroid at all times. On the morning of March 26th at daylight the battalions of Lieutenant Colonel Stover and Major Howard were placed on the firing line, with Major Allison's battalion in reserve. They moved in a column of fours by the left flank to the rear of the brigade and were deployed, facing north on the right of the Tenth Pennsylvania. The Nebraska regiment was about one thousand yards to the rear, as a reserve to the brigade. The whole regiment formed in column of fours and moved on the Tuliahan river about four miles toward the bay and came out on the great Polo plain, which was about four miles long, in the shape of an oval about two miles wide near the center, and entirely surrounded by trees. The railroad ran along the left toward the bay. It was a terrible march through the sun, and the men, having no fresh water, were stumbling and falling from exhaustion and thirst. When it came on the plain near the end of the oval the brigade was formed in battle line facing the bay. As regiment after regiment moved up on the left in skirmish line the South Dakota position was well toward the Polo end of the oval. The Tenth Pennsylvania had swung six companies into line just ahead, topping a slight elevation in the valley, where the enemy opened a hot fire on the right from the trees near the center of the oval. The line made a sharp right angle and faced the position of the enemy from where the firing came. This brought the South Dakotas to the crest of a little rise facing a heavy wooded slope where the enemy could be seen heavily entrenched. The orders to Colonel Frost were to take the trenches and then execute a left wheel and move on Polo. Before executing the order Howard's battalion, which had been placed in reserve at noon, was placed in echelon on the right flank with orders to take care of any enemy that might threaten the right. Colonel Frost then ordered an advance with fixed bayonets, Stover commanding the left, Allison the right, with the Colonel at the center looking after the whole line The regiment moved forward in quick time and took the first line of trenches, the enemy falling back on another line of breastworks. When the crest of the hill was reached Colonel Frost was about to give the order for a left wheel, as directed by his commanding officer, when a heavy fire was poured in from the enemy in front. Deeming it unwise to expose his force to such a strong flank fire, the Colonel ordered an advance, which was made under a heavy fire, coming out at a point overlooking a bridge across the Meyacanyan river. The bridge was strongly defended by earthworks on the opposite side of the river. One entrenchment was about fifty yards to the right of the railroad track, while the other trench was about four hundred yards to the left of the track. Major Allison's battalion moved to the left and joined Lieutenant Stover. Companies K and I were sent by Stover to the left to flank the trench, while Company F, assisted by part of Company G, forced the bridge. The enemy set fire to the bridge and poured a heavy fire to hold the South Dakotans in check until the bridge should be rendered impassable. Sergeant Holman, of Company C, ran forward on the bridge and extinguished the fire, performing one of the most daring acts of the entire war. Lieutenant Huntington, of Company F, was first to cross the bridge with part of his men. The remainder of Company F, part of C, I and K, the remainder of C and Companies G and L crossed in the order named and drove the Filipinos from the trenches, leaving sixty-seven dead behind their works. The two battalions then formed a line to protect the bridge while the other forces crossed. Shortly after Colonel Frost had ordered Stover and Allison's battalions to take the trenches beyond the bridge, he saw a force on the right of the railroad track which he mistook for Howard's battalion. He hurried to them thinking he could work around the bend of the river and flank the enemy's trenches from the left. He found they were Nebraskans, and also found the country of such contour that he could not carry out his plan. He returned to the railroad cut and brought the enemy under an oblique fire. He saw two of the Filipinos run and knew that a charge would stampede the others. He accordingly ordered Musician Allen to blow a charge and called to the Nebraskans to come across the bridge. They were always ready for a fight and clambered up the bank; they and the South Dakotans crossed together. Colonel Frost had just crossed the bridge when he was called back by General Hale, who pointed to some volunteers moving up the track and ordered Colonel Frost to get his men together and move to the right front and clear out the enemy there. Colonel Frost ran up the track after those troops, supposing them to be Howard's men. When he overtook them he found they were another force of Nebraskans. Just at that moment a force of Filipinos opened fire from the left. Colonel Frost asked for the ranking officers of the Nebraskans, when a captain stepped forward and saluted. Frost ordered him to charge the trenches of the enemy on the left. He saluted and said, "Very well, sir." As he began farming his line for a charge a Nebraska major ran up and asked, "What in h-l are you going to do?" The captain replied, "I shall take the trench by Colonel's Frost's order," and he took it in a most gallant manner. Colonel Frost then moved to the right and joined his forces and they were charging the strongest earthworks of the Filipinos. The enemy were quickly dislodged and the soldiers lost all semblance of military order as they chased and shot the Malays. It was like hunting jackrabbits. Every time a Filipino sprang from a hiding place a Springfield cracked and a dusky warrior fell. While the regiment was halted and the hospital corps were taking care of the wounded, a fire was opened from some Nipa huts about seven hundred yards in front. Adjutant Lien asked and was granted leave to take twenty men and drive out the sharpshooters. He routed the enemy out and set fire to the buildings and returned to the command. Chaplain Daley, who was always with the men during the engagements, had just come from the side of Private Fred. C. Lorensen, who had fallen, as it was thought mortally wounded, in the hard struggle Company L had had among the lagoons before crossing the Meycauayan bridge. Besmeared with mud and wet with perspiration, he hurried to reach his regiment, crossing the bridge in advance of the Nebraska troops, five of whom fell before they could reach protection behind the railroad grade. A few minutes later Brigadier General Hale was slightly wounded in the foot. Shouting to the Chaplain, who had now reached the South Dakotans, he called him to him. "Are you the chaplain of the South Dakotans ?" he said. Saluting, he answered, "I am." "Give my compliments to Colonel Frost yonder on the field, and say, as soon as the enemy is driven out of sight, and the field seems to be clear, he is to recall his men and take them back across the Meycauayan bridge to bivouac for the night; for they must have food and rest." But fully an hour of hot skirmishing ensued. When all was quiet the Colonel led his men backward toward the bridge, but had not gone a mile before an orderly from General Hale countermanded the order, and asked him to return to his former position and throw out a skirmish line. It was now after nine o'clock at night and the regiment had marched and fought since early morning with no breakfast, no dinner, no supper, and but very little supper the night before. Quartermaster Burdick finally succeeded in bringing light rations on pack ponies that night between twelve and three o'clock, with a fuller supply a few hours later. The men had little rest for they must be ready for instant action throughout the night. Frost ordered Major Howard, whose battalion Frost ordered Major Howard, whose battalion had been placed in echelon on the right flank, to attack the enemy on the right, where they were holding a line of rifle pits commanding the advance of the regiment. The course of the battalion in this movement necessitated their crossing the river several times on account of its winding course, but the enemy was finally driven out without any casualties, except a slight wound in the shoulder suffered by Captain Englesby. This movement took the battalion about three-quarters of a mile away from the line of march, which was regained after the engagement, but the balance of the regiment had disappeared. Major Howard bivouacked his men, who were soaked to the skin and covered with mud, when they were allowed to undress and build fires to dry their clothing, and then left them in command of Captain VanHouten, the senior captain, and rode on ahead to find the regiment. He found and reported to Colonel Frost after the skirmish line had been thrown out for the night at about nine o'clock. The wagon train had lost its way in the jungle and had not arrived with reserve supplies of ammunition and rations, and on hearing this Howard volunteered to go back and find them. He left the line about ten o'clock and rode until two o'clock before locating the wagon train, which had lost the road and had finally gone into camp in the woods. He aroused Captain Burdick, who soon had the wagons under way, and the reserve supplies were brought up to the line in time for distribution early in the morning. Howard then returned to his command and after an hour's sleep started on with his battalion and rejoined the regiment. The losses during the day were, wounded: Captain C. H. Englesby, Company H; Privates Fred W. Barber and Warren E. Crozier, of Company I; Sergeant Hiram A. Pratt, Company F; Private Fred C. Lorencen, Company L; Artificer Arne Hanges, Company K; Private George Bensen, Company C; Private Allen Myers, Company L; Byron F. Hastings, of Company E. The morning of March 27th opened bright and clear, like nearly all mornings in the tropics during the dry season. It was to be the hardest struggle of the war, for the South Dakotans and the whole state was to be cast in gloom because of brave lives sacrificed, while the whole nation was to pay tribute to South Dakota's valor and discipline. It was the only battle of the war where the newspaper representatives saw the South Dakotans in battle, and therefore the only battle in which Colonel Frost's regiment received the notice in the public press it deserved. While certain volunteer regiments had received press compliments, some of them deserved and many of them so ridiculously false that they became the laughing stock of the regiments who knew the facts, the South Dakotans and Nebraskans were doing the fighting and sustaining the losses without mention in the newspapers, except to give their surprisingly large lists of dead and wounded. The South Dakotans were up and had their breakfasts before daylight and were ready for action. Colonel Frost was ordered to form them for an advance guard for the brigade. The Second Battalion, under command of Major Howard, was advanced to the firing line; the First Battalion, under Colonel Stover, was formed five hundred yards in the rear, and the Third Battalion, under Major Allison, was formed five hundred yards in the rear of Stover. The brigade commander informed Colonel Frost that he might meet the enemy and that he believed the danger was on the right and to dispose of his force accordingly. Stover's force was placed in echelon behind the firing line, while the reserve, under Allison, was echeloned behind Stover's force. This disposition made, Colonel Frost informed General Hale he was ready to move. The Colonel was satisfied and went to the rear, but soon returned and directed that Colonel Stover's force be placed in a column of fours on the railroad, which was done. General McArthur then rode up and told Colonel Frost he was to move on the further line of trees which marked Marilao, and if no opposition was encountered he was to halt, but if his advance was opposed he was to use discretion. Colonel Frost ordered the musician to sound "Forward, march," and the line advanced, the left moving along the railroad embankment, with the Third Artillery deployed on the left of the track with orders to support the South Dakotas The line moved forward about eight hundred yards, where a long range fire was opened by the enemy on the left. The men were halted for a few moments, while the fire was replied to by the artillery. Not considering the fire of much consequence, Colonel Frost ordered an advance. He, Adjutant Lien and Colonel Frost's orderly, Private Syverson, were on horseback and had just crossed a dry run, when they received a terrific fire from the line of trees which had been indicated by General McArthur as probably concealing the enemy. The firing of the Filipinos was by volley and, as was afterward learned, came from Aguinaldo's "regulars," men who had served under the Spanish flag and had been drilled by Spanish officers. Colonel Frost ordered his men to lie down and wait for the mountain artillery to open fire from the railroad track. Looking to the left of the track, he saw the artillery had been deserted and he decided at once that infantry must carry the enemy's position. He ordered Adjutant Lien to hurry back to Stover and Allison and order them to deploy their battalions to the right. The gallant young adjutant turned his horse and galloped over the field amid a perfect hurricane of bullets. He soon saw that Stover and Allison were hurrying their men in position as Colonel Frost desired. Waving his hand in approval, he turned his horse and started on the run to Colonel Frost's position. He had just passed where Major Warne and the hospital corps were coming up when his horse, a small island pony, gave out and could go no further. Leaping to the ground, Lieutenant Lien attempted to lead his horse, but the pony refused to move. He then called to one of the hospital men, "Give my horse a kick and send him on when he gets rested," and turned and ran toward where Colonel Frost was fighting. He had not gone more than twenty yards when he fell, shot through the bowels by a Mauser bullet. Chaplain Daley, who was near, hurried to him and spoke a few words, but the young hero was too near death to reply. In about eight minutes from the time he was hit he was dead. He had just been promoted to the rank of captain, though his commission had not yet reached him. He was brave to rashness, generous to a fault, well educated, gifted both as an orator and writer, and easily the idol of the regiment. He was just twenty-four years old when he was killed. Colonel Frost ordered Musician Allen to sound "Forward, march." The men ran forward about fifty yards and dropped to the ground to fire. Colonel Frost ordered Allen to blow "cease firing" and "forward march." The men obeyed with automatic discipline, although the fire from the enemy's trenches was rapid and fatal, many of the volunteers falling, killed or wounded, as the men advanced. The line would march forward in quick time for from fifty to one hundred yards and would then fall down and fire. At about twenty-five yards from the trenches Colonel Frost saw some Filipinos run from the trenches and he immediately ordered Musician Allen to blow a charge. The whole battalion responded gallantly. When D and E companies had nearly reached the river it could be seen that the enemy had deserted the trenches. These companies were ordered to cross the bridge and form a line to the right and flank the trenches further up on the far side of the river, from which a heavy fire came, and were under the personal command of Colonel Frost. Companies M and H, under Major Howard, advanced directly on the river, which they reached and crossed, driving the Filipinos out of the entrenchments before the other two battalions had time to reach the line. The First and Third Battalions, under Colonel Stover and Major Allison, especially the latter, owing to the distance they occupied behind the advance guard, had a larger distance to cover in double time in order to reach the line, resulting in a large number being overcome with the heat, among whom was Major Allison. It was thought for a time that he could not recover, but finally did so sufficiently to be sent into the hospital at Manila, and from this point the Third Battalion was under command of Captain Englesby, of Company H. During the advance the Filipinos had poured in a hot fire from a church in Marilao on the left. When the Filipinos saw the South Dakotans coming, wading and swimming and holding their guns above the water, they ran. Colonel Frost sent Sergeant Major Beck for the mountain howitzer, which had been brought up by some Nebraskans near the bridge. Captain VanHouten, of Company D, a man of giant strength and courage in proportion, saw the gun on the wrong side of the river and ran to the men in charge and asked why it had not been taken across the bridge. The lieutenant explained that all the bridge was burned away except the iron girders and that the men could not carry the gun across. The South Dakota captain was angry in earnest. He ordered them to dismount the gun and help him lift it upon his shoulders. This done he carried it across the bridge, while some of the men carried the carriage over, fixed the gun in position and opened fire on the retreating Filipinos with destructive effect. The gun was heavy and the exertion required to carry it across the bridge was almost superhuman. The strain on Captain VanHouten was so great that he had to keep his bed for two months and he died from the effects in 1902. When the regiment reached the trenches, which the Filipinos had deserted, the men were which the Filipinos had deserted, the men were absolutely exhausted, many of them overcome by moved in a column of fours, crossed the river and deployed on the right of the South Dakotans, both regiments lying there until nearly night, when General Hale ordered them to move by the left flank. While General Hale and Colonel Frost were talking, they suddenly observed the Filipinos advancing in a skirmish line and opening fire at a distance of about two thousand yards. As the South Dakotans were moving to the left flank the Third Artillery opened fire on the Filipinos, after . which the Nebraskans charged, driving the enemy about two miles. Major Howard was then sent out with six companies to establish an outpost line in the direction of the enemy, so the balance of the brigade could have what rest was possible on the open ground without being disturbed by a night attack of the enemy. The Tenth Pennsylvania was brought up to the left of the First South Dakota and the First Nebraska returned and bivouacked on the right, which brought the brigade into line together again. The First South Dakota Volunteers lost heavily during the day. The killed were: Adjutant Jonas H. Lien; Lieutenant Sydney E. Morrison, Company E; Lieutenant Frank H. Adams Company H; Privates James Nelson, Company D; Mathew Ryan, Company D; Harvey Keogh, Company E; Lewis Chase, Company E. The wounded were: Sergeant Charles B. Preacher, Company M (died from wound); Benjamin Strobel, Company F; John Stanke, Company E; Sergeant Sydney J. Connell, Company C; Ray Washburn, Company D; Isaac Johnson, Company D; Sergeant Ernest Madden, Company D; Sergeant Arthur A. Northrop, Company E; Musician David Elenes, Company M; Private Matt Schuber, Company M; Peter J. Tierney, Company F; Fred Bunger, Company L; William F. Panke, Company E; Private Homer Stockmeyer, Company I; Peter Ryan, Company E; Will May, Company I; George A. Moon, Company C; Corporal Alexander Hardy, Company G; Frank A. Schroeder, Company E; First Lieutenant Paul D. McClelland, Company I; Corporal William Ammo, Company I; Private Bay S. Nichols, Company K; Corporal Frank E. Wheeler, Company E; Charles H. Jackson, Company M; Guy P. Squire, Company F. As two-thirds of the casualties were from the Second Battalion, some idea of the warmth of the engagement may be formed. The percentage of loss of this battalion in this engagement was the greatest of any engagement in the Philippines during the war. The regiment remained in Marilao during the 28th, the men resting and washing their clothes and bathing themselves in the river. On the morning of the 29th they started, with the Nebraskans, moving in echelon to the right probably five minutes in advance of the rest of the brigade. The Filipinos had flooded the rice fields, so that the volunteers marched nearly two miles through mud and water always above their knees, and often above their hips. A heavy fire was expected at any minute, but fortunately the enemy fired only a few shots. On crossing the Santa Cruz river a battalion of Filipinos was seen withdrawing in good order. Colonel Frost ordered the regiment to open fire and the enemy, were soon scampering away in thorough disorder. The South Dakotans then closed in on the railroad track in a column of fours, the Tenth Pennsylvania in front in a skirmish line. After passing the next stream the South Dakotans were deployed and swept over a country about five miles and returned to the railroad near the Guiguinto river. While near the bridge the Filipinos opened a heavy fire and the Pennsylvanians deployed and replied. Howard's battalion crossed the river under fire and deployed on the right of the Pennsylvanians. Colonel Frost received an order from General McArthur to take the remainder of the South Dakotans and move around a bend in the river and try to take the enemy in flank. The General soon discovered that such a move was not practicable and recalled Colonel Frost. The two battalions then crossed the bridge and formed a line on the right of Howard's battalion. About dark the enemy's fire ceased and the troops bivouacked on the battlefield. The South Dakota losses were: Wounded. Privates Knute K. Peterson, John W. Ortman John P. Rodgers and John Donnelly, of Company L; Corporal Oscar E. Johnson, Company H; Privates Oscar Fallen and Charles E. Theiss, of Company M; Sergeant Frank B. Stevens and Lewis F. Barber, of Company C; Manuel Rickman, of Company D. On the morning of the 30th the brigade moved forward from Guiguinto and had advanced about a mile when it received a lively fire. The force pressed on until it received orders to halt in front of Santa Isabel. The South Dakotans deployed to right of Santa Isabel, when orders came that the artillery would open fire and after twenty minutes the Nebraskans would move on a line seven degrees west of north. After five minutes more the South Dakotans were to move on the same bearing and the Tenth Pennsylvanians were to follow five minutes later. The South Dakotans took a position about twenty paces behind the Nebraskans and marched according to orders, receiving a long range fire from the Filipinos until Malolos creek was reached. When there the Filipinos could be seen drawn up in battle line in the field beyond a line of trees fringing the further bank of the creek. The regiment fired several volleys into the enemy and moved forward, the Filipinos running to the railroad embankment on the left for shelter. On reaching the railroad on the north side of the creek the South Dakotans were to wheel to the left while the Nebraskans were to move one-half mile further and wheel to the left also. The advance of the South Dakotans was so rapid that they crossed before the Nebraskans and opened fire when the railroad embankment was reached. Here Colonel Frost ordered a left wheel, frequently halting the men to fire. The Filipinos poured in a heavy fire, but were too badly rattled to make it effective. They were afraid to raise their heads high enough from their entrenchments to take aim, and resorted to the futile method of raising their guns above the entrenchments and firing at random, nearly always too high. Colonel Frost swung his regiment around and drove the enemy from their trenches to the woods. As the South Dakotans emerged from a line of trees they saw the Filipino railroad train steaming off toward Calumpit. His work accomplished, Colonel Frost returned his regiment to the railroad track, where he met the Nebraskans coming up just as they were about to execute their left wheel. Receiving some of the fire from the enemy further down the track, Colonel Frost threw his regiment in position to reply, when an aide came up from General Hale and said not to fire, as the Kansas and Montana regiments were entering Malolos. Thus ended the campaign on Malolos. The regiment went into camp on the railroad, near Malolos, where it remained for twenty-four days. The battalions were sent alternately about one-half mile to the front to bivouac as outpost. The men were compelled to sleep on the ground with their clothes on and be ever on the alert, the Filipinos firing on them nightly. During the day detachments were sent out frequently to make reconnaissance. This was a dangerous kind of duty always, yet was eagerly sought for by the officers and men, and scarcely a detachment went out without having a brush with the enemy. April 11th the Minnesota regiment was attacked at Guiguinto by a strong force of Filipinos and the colonel sent an urgent appeal to Brigadier General Hale for reinforcements. Hale ordered Frost to send half of the First South Dakota. Major Howard was accordingly dispatched with six companies, but arriving too late to participate in the fight. The next time the monotony of constantly watching an annoying and elusive enemy was broken was Sunday, April 23d. During the day Major Bell, chief of the scouts, went out with a force to make a reconnaissance. At Quingua, about six miles from Malolos, he was attacked by a large force and practically surrounded and in imminent danger of being captured or cut to pieces. He sent for reinforcements and the Nebraskans and one battalion of the Iowans were hurried forward. Colonel Stotsenberg, of the Nebraskans, had just reached the field with the men when he ordered a charge. Before he had gone more than a dozen yards he fell with a bullet through his heart. His regiment rushed on and carried the enemy's trenches in gallant style, but with heavy loss to themselves. The Filipinos retreated to the far side of the Bayolas river, where they had more trenches and were prepared to make a stubborn resistance. About five o'clock General Hale ordered up the First South Dakota. The regiment reached the battlefield about dark and bivouacked behind the walls of a large church. As the first streaks of dawn appeared in the heavens the men were ordered to form in a column of files and marched toward the Bayolas river. The first file halted about fifty yards from a bamboo foot bridge, the Filipinos opening a heavy fire from the opposite bank. Brigadier General Hale ordered two pieces of artillery in position, one near the bridge and the other about one hundred yards down the river. After about twenty shots had been fired from the two pieces, the South Dakotans were ordered to advance. Captain Brockway, with Company F, led the advance across the bridge, expecting to meet a heavy fire. But the enemy had evidently been demoralized by the artillery fire and made only a feeble resistance. The regiment formed a skirmish line and advanced a half mile and covered the crossing of the other troops and trains. In the engagement the killed were: Corporal Oscar E. Johnson and Privates Charles Stultz and Mortimer Bowen, of Company H; Privates Harlow DeJean, David C. Dean, Company L; James A. Lizer, Company K. Wounded, Corporal Charles P. Greene and Private Hall Weiss, Company G; Axal Sjoblom, Company L; Sergeant Charles L. Butler, Company B. When all were across the brigade moved forward, two battalions of the South Dakotans on the right and one in support, two battalions of the Nebraskans on the left and one in support, and the Iowa regiment in reserve about one thousand yards in rear, marching in a column of fours in the road. As the South Dakotans approached the town of Pulilan they received a heavy fire from what appeared to be a V-shaped trench, or redan, about two hundred yards in front. The men dropped to the ground and poured in several effective volleys, when Colonel Frost ordered an advance. Just as the men were starting the colonel received word that the artillery had come up and would open fire, and therefore ordered a halt, which was obeyed by all except Companies H, L and G, under command of Captain Englesby, who failed to hear the order. These companies charged the trenches in front of them and rushed to the top of the earthworks before the Filipinos had time to retreat. Officers shot the enemy with revolvers and the privates opened on them with the less rapid, but more deadly, rifles. Thirty-eight Filipinos were killed and thirty-nine rifles were captured in this trench the latter being remarkable, as the Filipinos had in nearly all cases saved their rifles from capture. It was a gallant charge and inflicted a heavier loss on the enemy than was known to have been sustained before, except in a few fights. After a few shots from the artillery, the First Battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Stover, was thrown forward and the entire line swept through the village and then wheeled to the left and moved towards Calumpit. In the afternoon, when within four miles of Calumpit, a dense jungle was encountered through which as many as two companies had to march in single file by winding paths to reach the opposite side. There the regiment was reformed, the Iowas coming up on right. Just as the line reformed the Filipinos opened fire from strong trenches about eight hundred yards in advance. The First Battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Stover, and the Third, under Captain Englesby, were ordered to fall to the ground and return the enemy's fire. Colonel Frost ordered pauses in the fire several times in order that he might judge its effect upon the enemy's fire. Finding that the fire from the trenches had slackened, he ordered the two battalions to charge. The men advanced over the eight hundred yards intervening, firing as they went. When the enemy's trenches were reached they had been abandoned by means of "get-away" trenches; eleven dead Filipinos were found. The regiment bivouacked then for the night, having marched and fought from about four o'clock in the morning. The men were utterly exhausted and scarcely able to get supper. The Filipinos took good care to provide for safety in retreat. Leading back from their fortifications to the jungle was always one or more trenches which would protect them from their assailants' fire during retreat. Chaplain Daley came up with a big batch of mail from home. The boys kindled fires along the trenches and read their letters, their weariness disappearing and their spirits being cheered by the messages from loved ones in South Dakota. On the morning of April 25th the brigade moved forward with the South Dakotans in the center, the Iowans on the right and the Nebraskans on the left. The march was slow, frequent changes of direction being made. About noon the force had approached within several hundred yards of the Bagbag river and received a sharp fire from the enemy, who lay in strong trenches on the opposite side. In fact, it was the most strongly entrenched position encountered during the entire campaign, the Filipinos having covered their trenches with railroad irons and curved sections of boiler iron. There was also a "get-a-way" trench, found leading from all Filipino entrenchments, showing that they expected to retreat and with the smallest possible exposure. General Hale found the river unfordable in front of the South Dakotans and Colonel Frost was ordered not to attempt to cross it, but to move his regiment forward and engage the enemy while the Nebraskans found a ford in order to cross and make a flank attack. Stover's and Howard's battalions were moved in skirmish line to the bank of the river, where they laid themselves down and opened fire on the enemy's trenches at a distance of not more than seventy five yards. Captain Englesby, with the Third Battalion, was held in reserve about four hundred yards in the rear, though in a position much exposed to the fire of the Filipinos. As the battalion approached the river bank, Corporal Breed, of Company B, who was almost directly in front of Colonel Frost, was shot. The Colonel seeing him fall, asked him if he was hurt much, and was raising a canteen to give him a drink when the heroic young man said, "It's only a scratch, Colonel," seized his gun and ran forward to the first clump of bushes near the river, where he fell again, gasped a few moments and died. He had been shot through the heart and the display of vitality was of the most remarkable on record. The South Dakotans lay on the bank under a terrific fire from the Filipino trenches, which was returned with a will until word was received that the Nebraskans had crossed the river and were about to attack the enemy in flank and that the fire must cease. It was some time before the Nebraskans began to move and the Filipinos fire was poured in with increased accuracy. To keep the rifles silent under a heavy and fatal fire from the enemy at close range is one of the hardest duties soldiers are ever called upon to perform, but the South Dakotans did it. The Nebraskans attacked after the South Dakotans had been lying on the river bank under fire for more than an hour and a half, and were soon seen driving the Filipinos from their trenches and the battle was over. During the' battle Lieutenant Colonel Stover, who had conducted himself with the utmost gallantry throughout the entire campaign, was overcome by heat and was disabled until May 6th, when he rejoined the regiment at San Fernando. During the fight at the Bagbag river there were many instances of gallantry. Colonel Frost said his point of observation was a narrow one, but that Captain Sessions and Lieutenant Hawkins, of Company B, who were in the center immediately in front of him, deserved special commendation for the coolness they displayed in exposing themselves through the action and in keeping their men under perfect control, and that Major Howard and Lieutenant Jennings displayed admirable nerve in coming down the line under fire to where he was standing to ascertain his wishes. He mentioned these instances because they came under his immediate observation. The killed were Corporal Henry Breed, Company B, and Privates Guy Jones and Charles E. Peterson, of Company H. The wounded were Lieutenant Walter S. Doolittle, of Company G; Sergeant Oliver C. Lapp and Privates Herbert A. Putnam, Charles Wagner and William H. Harrison, of Company I; Corporal Christ Myhre and Private Thomas H. Coleman, of Company E, Quartermaster Sergeant Antone Jurich and Private James H. Davis, Company L; Corporal William K. Reaman, Company F; Sergeant Arthur W. Swenson and Corporal Hammond H. Buck and Privates James A. Gibbs, Robert Hawkins and Frank Goebel, of Company B; Privates Roy E. Ranous and Don J. Ranous, of Company K. At night, after the battle, the regiment moved by the left flank and bivouacked at the junction of the Juinga and Calumpit rivers. On the morning of the 26th the regiment crossed the Calumpit river and was stationed on the Bagbag river to the rear, the right resting on the railroad track. By this time the Montana and Kansas regiments had entered Calumpit and the Filipinos were firing at them from trenches north of the Quingua and Calumpit rivers. On the passed over or struck the ground near the South Dakotans, but no loss was suffered. General McArthur, having encountered less resistance in Calumpit than he expected, ordered Colonel Frost on the 27th to hold the railroad bridge. One battalion was placed on the north bank and the other two battalions on the south bank and the regiment remained there until May 2d, when it formed a part of a force sent out under General Hale to reinforce General Lawton. The force marched to Pulilan where the men bivouacked in a heavy rainstorm which drenched everything and rendered rest impossible. A sick Spaniard was found there who said about two hundred Filipinos had been killed at Pulilan in the advance of April 24th. "Why," he said, "they found thirty-eight dead Filipinos in one trench." He referred to the deadly work done by Companies H, L and G in their charge on the redan, or V-shaped trench, where thirty eight Filipinos were killed in the trench and thirty-nine rifles captured. During the night General Hale received word that Lawton was not in need of reinforcements, and when morning arrived the brigade was marched back to Calumpit, and the South Dakotans bivouacked north of the Rio Grande de la Pampauga near Apalit Station on the railroad. When day dawned the brigade moved forward on Santo Tomas, the South Dakotans in reserve. As the brigade neared Santo Tomas river, the Iowa regiment at the head of the column deployed and moved to the attack. The artillery also moved up and opened fire. After a sharp interchange of shots the Nebraskans were deployed on the right of the Iowas and moved forward in their usual intrepid manner to the attack. After the firing had been kept up for about thirty minutes, the South Dakotans were ordered to the right to protect it from a threatened attack. Here came one of the most terrible marches of the war. The men had been exhausted by the heat and bad water and long marches already endured. Malaria had its grip on most of the men, while many in the ranks were weak from diarrhea and stomach trouble. Abrasions on the skin, caused by marching through jungles and bogs, had become loathsome sores, covering the legs of the men from their knees down. Hands, arms, necks, faces and heads were sore wherever a scratch had been received. In this weakened condition the men marched to the right, as ordered, crossing dense swamps and wading bogs and streams, where the water and mud were always above their knees and often above their hips. The men actually pulled themselves through the deep mud, step at a time. The swamp grass reached above their heads and a vertical sun shot down its unbearable heat upon the sweltering, suffering men. Many of them fell down in the mud with sunstroke, others stopped on tufts of grass, unable to drag themselves longer. After about a mile of this fearful march, Colonel Frost saw dry ground and gathered his exhausted force on it. Less than three hundred men of all the regiment had got through the swamp. A small force of Filipinos were seen about a mile away on the right, but the men were too nearly worn out to attack. Meanwhile the Nebraskans had crossed the Santo Thomas river and were now seen driving the enemy from their trenches and the fight was over. The regiment rested for about two hours and then moved down to the railroad where the Iowa regiment was found waiting. The river was forded and the South Dakotans ranged themselves on the right of the Nebraskans and the brigade marched forward about a mile, the First Battalion marching through a swamp almost as bad as that on the other side of the river. At last bivouac ground was reached and the men had to hustle for themselves. They soon had fires and Nipa shelters, eating their hard-tack and drinking their coffee with some comfort, though they were compelled to sleep on the ground in line of battle, while rain fell in torrents nearly all night. The morning showed three hundred four men on duty. The only casualty suffered from Filipino bullets was a wound received by Private Robert J. Van Hook, of Company K. The Iowa regiment moved up and entered San Fernando on the 5th without opposition, the South Dakotans entering on the evening of the same day and Colonel Frost was appointed provost marshal. San Fernando is a large inland city where many rich Filipinos had made their homes, and where Aguinaldo had moved his capital after he was driven from Malolos. San Fernando was not a healthy camp and the nervous strain on the men and officers was distressing. The Filipinos formed a circle half around the city and built entrenchments close to the American lines, from which they kept up a fire almost continually at night and often through the day. The sick list increased at a fearful rate until nearly all the men in the regiment were unfit for duty. Drs. Warne and Cox did all in their power to alleviate the suffering and to have the regiment relieved from active duty in order to allow the men to recuperate The government was not suited to sick and debilitated men. It never is. In order to supply actual necessities Lieutenant Colonel Stover, who returned to the regiment May 9th opened a personal account with the commissary department and supplied the sick men with more than eight hundred dollars' worth of delicacies necessary to their condition. The men who were thus favored showed their appreciation by reimbursing their benefactor as quickly as pay day arrived. At San Fernando the services of the South Dakotans were more severe. Worn out, and sick as they were, yet they discharged their duties well until they were nearly all on the sick list, either in the hospitals or in quarters. But a time came when even the sick were not excused from duty. The Filipinos had practically surrounded San Fernando and General Otis thought it necessary to make the strongest possible show of fighting men. The army surgeon was sent through the hospitals at Manila to examine the inmates and send those able for duty to the front. Regimental surgeons were not permitted to assist and their reports and advice were ignored. He went into the hospitals and had all the patients in each ward, who could stand on their feet, ranged before him. "What's the matter with you," he would ask each one. The answer would be "malarial fever," or "chronic diarrhea," "wounded in the arm," or whatever the disability might be. "Mark him for duty" came the almost invariable response. Hospital nurses interposed and regimental surgeons protested, but unless it could be shown that the soldier was unable to work, the order was carried out. Among the South Dakotans twenty-five were found whom he ordered to report to their regiments at San Fernando. One of them had an unhealed gunshot wound through the lungs and another had a gunshot wound through the arm and shoulder so that he could not raise his left arm. Both of these men were peremptorily ordered to report for duty. Others of the hapless twenty-five were worse disabled on account of disease than these two men were from unhealed wounds. They were taken by train to the Bagbag river, the railroad bridge across which had been destroyed by Filipinos. From there they walked to Calumpit, a distance of four miles and, utterly exhausted, could go no farther. A regular army surgeon examined them there and reported by wire to headquarters that none of them were capable of doing duty and that it would be impossible for them to go to San Fernando on foot, a distance of ten miles. An order was wired back to put them on buffalo carts and send them on. When they reached San Fernando most of them were scarcely able to get off the carts and Dr. Warne immediately ordered all of them into the hospital as totally unfit for service. Other regiments had outrages perpetrated on their sick similar to that experienced by the South Dakotans. One man belonging to the Third Artillery, who had his arm broken by bullets in two places, one break being just above the elbow and the other near the shoulder, was ordered to the front by the same surgeon who went through the South Dakota hospital. The bones had not yet knit and the flesh was unhealed. He could not raise a gun, much less discharge one. He was one of the bravest officers in his battery and tried to Obey. When he found his physical strength unequal to the requirements he refused to obey, for which he was ordered court-martialed. From May 5th, when San Fernando was taken, the Filipinos harassed the outposts and prevented the soldiers from resting at night, but it was not until the 25th that an engagement of any moment occurred. Captain Hageman, of Company K, was in charge of the right outpost when he saw the Filipinos advancing to the attack. He reported the fact to Colonel Frost, who hastily assembled the regiment and formed a skirmish line behind the fringe of the trees fronting the enemy's lines. No enemy was seen. General Hale came up and made a reconnaissance and saw two Filipino officers advancing on foot. On the right the General saw nothing for certain, but said he believed there were troops moving through the jungle about four hundred yards away. He walked up the road about fifty yards beyond the outpost and came to a turn in the road when he spied two Filipinos, not more than two hundred yards away, who instantly leveled their guns and fired. He returned to the outpost and Colonel Frost took the First and Second Battalions and attacked, receiving a heavy fire at short range. Rushing onward, the skirmish line of the enemy was encountered and many of them were riddled with bullets before they could escape. One Filipino was found with five bullet holes through his neck, thirty dead Filipinos were found and two prisoners were taken. The regiment advanced about one hundred yards further, when it was ordered by General Hale to halt until the Iowans came upon the right. During the wait a heavy fire was received, killing one man and wounding three others. A left wheel was made with a view to punishing the enemy, but the Filipinos were too spry and kept out of range of the Springfield rifles of the volunteers. The soldiers were returned to their quarters about dark and rested until about 3:20 the next morning, when the outposts were attacked again. The regiment was quickly assembled and moved into position where it waited under a desultory fire until daylight, when General Hale came out and moved the First and Second Battalions to the right outpost, leaving the Second Battalion fronting a sugar mill, where the enemy were supposed to be in force. The enemy waited in extended order until the Iowans came upon the right where it moved forward toward the sugar mill, from where the Filipinos opened fire. Company A faced left and returned the fire, while the other companies executed a left wheel and drove the enemy from the mill, killing and wounding several of them. The Iowans made a circular movement, but encountered no enemy. The South Dakotans returned to quarters, having fought their last engagement in the Philippines. The losses sustained were: Killed, Dan Colleran, Company G; wounded, First Sergeant George Barker, Company A; Corporal David Martindale, Company C; Private Edward Heald, Company D; Corporal Carl McConnell, and Privates Bert Kellet and James Black, Company G. The regiment remained on an outpost until June 10th. The men were under fire almost every night and the nervous strain was great. When the order came to relieve them they had been on the firing line one hundred and twenty six days; most of the time being compelled to sleep in their clothes and much of the time having. only the muddy, poisonous earth for a bed. There was not more than an average of eight men to a company capable of doing duty. When the record was shown General McArthur, he said to Dr. Boyd: "The record of the South Dakota regiment in the Philippines has no parallel in military history, so far as I know." The regiment, under orders, returned to Manilla on June 10th for recuperation, where they were located at Camp Santa Mesa until June 23d, when they were again ordered out to assist in guarding the lines around Manilla. The First and Third Battalions, under Colonel Frost, were stationed near San Francisco Del Monte, guarding the line from Baligbalig to the sunken church near La Loma, the Second Battalion, under Major Howard, relieving a battalion of the Twenty-first Infantry in guarding the line between the Pasig river and the Deposito. On August 5th the regiment was relieved by the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry and sent into quarters at Manilla, and on August 10th received their final orders to take transports and were embarked on the "Sheridan," which left Manilla on August 12th, arriving in San Francisco in September, 1899, at which point the regiment was mustered out of the United States service. The return of the First Regiment was a source of great rejoicing to the people of South Dakota, whose pride in its achievements was unbounded. The congressional delegation, many of the state officers and citizens met the regiment at San Francisco and gave them a hearty welcome, there and at home funds were collected and the expense of reaching their home was paid and afterward assumed by the state. The trip home was made by way of the Northern Pacific to Jamestown, and thence down the James valley. President McKinley so timed his western tour as to be at Aberdeen to welcome the South Dakotans upon their arrival on the morning of October 14th and at every town and hamlet through which they passed, they were given an ovation. Again at Yankton that evening, the President met them and the occasion will ever stand out as a red letter day in the history of the State. GRIGSBY'S COWBOYS. In addition to the First Regiment South Dakota also furnished five troops of cavalry, officially known as the Third Regiment of the United States Volunteer Cavalry, but popularly designated Grigsby's Cowboys. The regiment was recruited under a special commission issued to Colonel Melvin Grigsby, of Sioux Falls, who was made commander of the brigade, with the pay of a brigadier general. The officers of the regiment were: Melvin. Grigsby, colonel; Charles F. Lloyd, lieutenant colonel; Robert W. Stewart, of Pierre, major; Otto L. Sues, of Sioux Falls, adjutant; Ralph W. Parliman, of Sioux Falls, quartermaster; Golon S. Clevenger, of Pierre, chaplain; Troop A, Deadwood - Seth Bullock, captain; Myron E. Wells and James E. Cusick, lieutenants; Troop B, Sioux Falls - John Foster, captain; George Grigsby and John N. Wright, lieutenants. Troop C, Belle Fourche - George E. Haire, captain; Rush Spencer Wells and Almond B. Wells, lieutenants. Troop D, Sturgis - John E. Hammon, captain; Daniel F. Conner and Walter L. Anderson, lieutenants. Troop E, Pierre - Joseph B. Binder, captain; John W. Laughlin and Lowell G. Fuller, lieutenants. The regiment was ordered to the camp at Chickamauga, where it was held until the close of the war and therefore did not see active service before the enemy. Mark W. Sheafe, of Watertown, was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers, by the President, but the war closed before he was given active service. In addition to the foregoing, a large number of patriotic South Dakotans, failing to get into the state organizations, went out of the state and joined other regiments and did praiseworthy service, both in Cuba and the Philippines.