The Filipino American War as seen by diarists in real time with some additional commentary and sourc

The weather is hot today. At 10 o’clock the thermometer reaches the 109 F mark in the shade. We have another change in guard duty. The First Battalion will probably get its share of outpost and guard duty now. Up until this time we have done more guard duty than any other battalion in the city but get no credit for it. We should have had this change long ago. We all receive mosquito netting today which we needed badly. [Frank] Christopher, [James] Baird, [Max] Hannan, [William] Kennedy, [George W.] Miller, [David] Twist, [Homer] Daugherty, John Curry and Ray Sparks are on the sick list.

THE OPERATIONS ABOUT MANILA.

General Merritt, Commander of the American Forces,

Describes the Situation Before and After the Battles Were Over.

Gives Great Praise to the Officers and Men, Regulars and Volunteers Alike, for Their Exemplary Spirit and Cheerful Endurance During the Trying Campaign Which Was Brought to Such a Brilliant and Successful Conclusion.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30.—The report of Major General Wesley Merritt of the operations, about Manila was made public at the War Department today. It is dated on board the transport China, August olst. After giving briefly the story of his embarkation and arrival at Manila and the disposition of the troops there, he says: "I found General Greene's command encamped on a strip of sandy land running parallel to the shore of the bay, and not far distant from the beach, but owing to the great difficulties of landing supplies, the greater portion of the force had shelter tents only, and were suffering many discomforts, the camp being situated in a low, flat place, without shelter from the heat of the tropical sun or adequate protection during the terrific downpour of rain so frequent at this season. ' I was at once struck by the exemplary spirit of patience, even cheerful endurance shown by the officers and men under such circumstances, and this feeling of admiration for the manner in which American officers, regulars and volunteer alike, accepted the necessary hardships of the work they have undertaken to do, has grown and increased with every phase of the difficult and .rying campaign which the troops of the Philippine expedition have brought to such a brilliant and successful conclusion. "The Filipinos, or insurgent forces at war with Spain, had, prior to the arrival of the American land forces, been waging a desultory warfare with the Spaniards for several months, and were at the time of my arrival in considerable force, variously estimated and never accurately ascertained, but probably not far from 1 —'•">,<NN* men. These troops, well supplied with small arms, with plenty of ammunition and several field guns, had obtained positions of investment opposite the Spanish line of detached works throughout their entire extent.-" General Merritt then speaks of Aguinaldo's accomplishments previous to his arrival, and continues: "General Aguinaldo did not visit me on my arrival, nor offer his services as ; a subordinate military leader, and as my instructions from the President ful- I ly contemplated the occupation of the ' islands by the American land force, and stated that 'the powers of the military occupant are absolute and supreme! and immediately operate on the political condition of the inhabitants,' I did not consider it wise to hold any direct i communication with the insurgent leader until I should be in possession of i the city of Manila, especially as I would not until then be in a position to issue a proclamation and enforce my authority in the event that his pretensions should clash with my designs. " For these reasons, the preparations for the attack on the city were pressed, and military operations conducted without reference to the situation of the insurgent forces. The wisdom of this course was subsequently fully established by the fact that when the troops of my command carried the Spanish intrenchments, extending from the sea to the Pasay road on the extreme Spanish right, we were under no obligations by prearranged plans of mutual attack, to turn to the right and clear the front still held against the insurgents, but were able to move forward at once and occupy the city and suburbs. "To return to the skuatktn of General Greene's brigade as I found It on my arrival, it will be seen that the difficulty in gaining an avenue of approach to the Spanish line lay in the fact of my disinclination to ask General Aguinaldo to withdraw from the beach and the 'Calle Real' so that Greene could move forward. This was overcome by instructions to General Greene to arrange, if possible, with the insurgent brigade commander in his Immediate vicinity to move to the right and allow the American forces unobstructed control of the roads in their Immediate front. No objection was made, and accordingly Central Greene's brigade threw forward a heavy outpost line on the 'Calle Real' end the beach, and constructed a trench in which a portion of the guns Of the Utah battries were placed. "The Spanish, observing this activity on our part, made a very sharp attack with infantry and artillery on tho night of July Stat The behavior of our troops during this night attack was all that could be desired, and I have, in cablegrams to the War Department, taken occasion to commend by name th. ~. who deserve special mention for good conduct in the affair. Our position was extended and strengthened oft- r this, and resisted successfully repeated night ntta< ks, with our forces suffering, however. considerable loss in wounded and killed, while the losses of the enemy, owing to darkness, could not be ascertained. "The strain ~f the night fighting and the heavy details for outpost duty made it Imperative to reinforce General Greene's troop* with General Mac Arthur's brigade, which had arrived in transports on the Slat of July. The difficulties of this operation can hardly be overestimated. The transports were at anchor off Caalte. five miles from a point on the beach where it was desired to disembark the men. A number of squalls, accompanied by floods of rain, raged day after day. and the only way to get the troop* and supplies ashore was to load them from the

ships' side into native lighters (called eascos) or small steamboats. move them to a point opposite the camp, and then disembark them through the surf in small boats or by running the lighters head on to the beach. The landing was finally accomplished, after days of hard work and hardship, and I desire here to express aga ! * rr ad miration for the fortitude ar. u heerfu. willingness of the men of all commands engaged in this operation. "Upon the assembly of Mac Arthur's brigade in support of Greene's, I had about 8,500 men in position to attack and I deemed the time had come for final action. During the time of tha night attack, I had communicated' my desire to Admiral Dewey that he would allow his ships to open fire on the right of the Spanish line of intrenchments, believing that such action would stop the night firing and loss of life, but the Admiral had declined to order it unless we were in danger of losing our position by the assaults of the Spanish, for the reason that, in his opinion, it would precipitate a general engagement, for which he was not ready. Now, however, the brigade of General Mac Arthur was in position and the Monterey had arrived, and under date of August Oth, Admiral Dewey agreed to my suggestion that we should send a joint letter to the Captain General notifying him that he should remove from the city nil noncombatants within forty-eight hours, and that operations against the defenses of Manila might begin at any time after the expiration of that period. "This letter was sent August 7th, and a reply was received the same date to the effect that ,the Spanish were without places of rt-fuge for the increased numbers of wounded, sick women and 1 children now lodged within the walls. "On the 9th a formal joint demand for the surrender of the city was made. This demand was based upon the hopelessness of the struggle on the part of the Spaniards, and then every consideration of humanity demanded that the city should not be subject to Ivombardment under such circumstances. The Captain General's reply, of the same date, stated that the Council of Defense held declared that the demand could not be granted, but the Captain General offered to consult his Government if we would allow him the time strictly necessary for the communications by way of Hongkong. This was declined on our part, for the reason that it could, in the opinion of the Ad?niral and myself, lead only to a continuance of the situation, with no immediate result favorable to us, and the necessity was apparent and very urgent that decisive action should be taken at once to compel the <'nemy to give up the town in order to relieve our troops from the trenches and from the great exposure to unhealthy conditions, which was unavoidable in a bivouac during the rainy season. "The sea coast batteries in defense of Manila are so situated that it is impossible for ships to engage them without firing into the town, and as the bombardment of a city filled with women and children, sick and wounded, and containing a large amount of neutral property, could only be justified as a last resort, it was agreed between Admiral Dewey and myself that an attempt should be made to carry the extreme right of the Spanish line of intrenchments in front of the positions *it that time occupied by our troops, which, with its flank on the seashore, was entirely open to the fire of the navy.

"By orders issued some time previously. Mac Arthur's and Greene's brigades were organized as the Second Division of the Eighth Army Corps, Brigadier General Thomas M. Anderson commanding, and in anticipation of the attack. General Anderson moved his headquarters from Cavite to the brigade camps, and assumed direct command of the field. Copies of the written and vert*al instructions referred to above, and appended hereto, were given to the division and brigade commanders on the 12th, and all the troops were In position on the 13th at an early hour in the morning.

' About 9 a. m. on that day our fleet Steamed forward from Cavite, and before I<> a. m. opened a hot and accurate fire of heavy shells and rapid-fire projectiles on the sea flank of the Spanish intrenchments at the powd r magazine fort, and at the same time the Utah batteries, in position in our trenches near the Calle Real, beiran firing with great accuracy. At 10:25, on a pre-arranged signal from our trenches that it was believed our troops could advance, the navy ceased firing, and immediately a light line of skirmishers from the Colorado brigade passed over our trenches and deployed rapidly forward, another line from the same regiment from the left flank of our earthworks advancing swiftly up the beach in open order. Both th< s lines found the powder magasine fort and' the trenches flanking it deserted, but as they passe,i over the Spanish works they were met by a sharp fire from a stOOtld line, situated in the Streets of Malate. by which a number of men were killed and wounded, among others the soldier who pulled down the Spanish colors still flying on the fort and raised our own. • "The works of the second line soon gave way to the determined advance of Greene's troops, and that officer pushed his brigade rapidly through Maiate and over the bridges to occupy Binondo and San Miguel, as contemplated In his Instructions, In the m* antime the brigade of General Mac Arthur. advancing simultaneously on the Pasay road, encountered a very sharp fire, coming from the blockhouses, trenches and woods in front, positions which It v. ry df&icult to carry, owing to th*' swampy condition of the ground on both.,sides of the roads, and the heavy undergrowth concealing the enemy. With much gallantry and excellent judgment on the part of the brigade (..nimander and the troorjs engaged these difficulties were overcome with a minimum loss, and Mac Arthur advanced and held the bridges and the sawn of Malate. as was contemplated by his lnatructlons< "The city of Manila was now in our possesion, excepting the walled town, but shortly after the entry of our troops in: » Malate a white flag was displayed on the walls, whereupon Lieutenant Colonel C. A. Whittier. U. S. V.. of my sum", ami Lieutenant Brumby. U. S. N., representing Admiral Dewey, were sent ashore to communicate with the Captain General. 1 soon personally follow* d these officers into the town, going at once to the palace of the Governor General, and there, after a conversation with the Spanish authorities, a preliminary agreement of the terms of capitulation was signed by the Captain G< rural and myself. This agreement

was subsequently incorporated into the formal terms of capitulation, as arranged by the officers representing the two forces. • Immediately after the surrender the Spanish colors on the sea front were hauled down and the American flag displayed and saluted by the guns ol the navy. The Second Oregon Regiment, which had proceeded by sea from Cavite, was disembarked and entered the walled town as a provost guard, and the Colonel was din cted to receive the Spanish arms and deposit them in places of security. "The town was filled with troops of the enemy, driven in from the intrenchments, regiments formed and standing in line in the streets, but the work of disarming proceeded quietly, and nothing unpleasant occurred. "In leaving the subject of the operations of the 13th, I desire here to recor 1 my appreciation of the-admirahle manner in which the orders for attack and the plan for occupation of the city were rarrh d out by the troops exactly as contemplated. I submit that for troops to enter under fire a town covering a wide area, to rapidly deploy and guard all the principal points in the extensive suburbs, to keep out the insurgent forces pressing for admission, to quietly disarm an army of Spaniards more than equal in number to the American troops, and, finally, by all this to prevent entirely all rapine, pillage and disorder, and gain entire and complete possession of a city of 300,000 people, filled with natives hostile to European interests, and, stirred up by the knowledge that their own people were fighting in the outside trenches, was an act which only the law-abiding, temperate, r> solute American, soldier, well and skillfully handled by his regimental and brigade commanders, could accomplish." General Merritt then details the inauguration of the military government 61 Manila by the Americans.