T
o receive praise for work accomplished, no matter in what form, is certainly pleasing to every phase of humanity. And to be rewarded for our work gives us a certain feeling of satisfaction, and assures us that our work along a certain line has been appreciated and admired. But to a soldier, whose duty is to do battle, praise for his victories is more than pleasing—it is exalting. And when after struggling along almost indefinitely at a certain task, and finally accomplishing it with overwhelming success, he is commended by anxious relatives and friends, usually the height of his ambition has been reached.
But to be especially commended and congratulated for his achievements, and by his superior officers and his commander-in-chief especially, is one of the highest honors that could be conferred upon him.
When he has performed deeds of true valor and courage, wherein he exhibits exceptional bravery, and is almost overwhelmingly besieged with letters of congratulation and praise, he has received one of the greatest of earthly rewards. But there are other rewards, such as promotion, for instance, and one has but to consult our army records at Washington to find that many of those who constituted what is known as the Lake Lanao Expedition have been fittingly rewarded for their gallant services on the 2d day of May, 1902.
That the reader may judge of the magnificent gallantry shown by those troops on that eventful day, a few of the letters are hereby published in full.
COPY OF CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES.
Camp Vicars (Mind.), P. I., May 7, 1902.
Announcement:
The troops of the Lake Lanao Expedition have been paraded in order that the following messages may be read to them:
FIRST.
Manila, May 4, 1902.
To General Davis:
Order that the following message of the President of the United States be read to every company and troop in your Brigade. It will be published in Division Orders for the information of other commanders, and as a special mark and tribute to the assaulting force of the Battle of Bayan.
(Sgd.) Chaffee.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Washington, D. C., May 5, 1902.
To General Chaffee,
Manila.
Accept for the Army under your command, and express to General Davis and Colonel Baldwin especially, my congratulations and thanks for the splendid courage and fidelity which has again carried our flag to victory. Your fellow countrymen at home will ever reverence the memory of the fallen, and be faithful to the survivors, who have themselves been faithful unto death for their country's sake.
(Sgd.) Theodore Roosevelt.
SECOND.
Manila, May 4, 1902.
To General Davis:
Please accept my congratulations for yourself, and express to Colonel Baldwin and all the officers and men engaged in the Battle of May 2, my high appreciation of their bravery, gallantry and soldiery conduct. My congratulations to both officers and men. I sincerely regret the death of some and the wounding of others. Let no comfort be withheld from the latter that can be supplied them.
(Sgd.) General A. R. Chaffee,
Commanding Philippines.
THIRD.
Cebu, May 4, 1902.
To General Davis:
My sincere congratulations to Baldwin, and to the officers and men engaged yesterday. Also to yourself for your energetic and skillful conduct of the whole affair, from first to last. It was necessary to give the Moros a lesson, and it seems to have been done in such a manner that it will not have to be repeated.
(Sgd.) Brigadier General Wade.
FOURTH.
Remarks of General George W. Davis.
Soldiers:
Words at my command fail to convey an adequate expression of admiration for the gallantry and self-sacrifice which I saw displayed by the assaulting lines and investing cordon on the 2nd of May. The memory of this sanguinary action will be treasured by all participants and observers as long as they live. For the 27th Infantry and the 25th Battery of Field Artillery, Bayan will always be an inspiration. At this moment of exaltation and triumph do not forget the vanquished foe, whose persistent gallantry commanded the admiration of all who saw the magnificent defense of their stronghold. A race of men who have been able to make such a fight, and who have turned this wilderness into a garden, have many qualities which if guided right will make them and their posterity valuable citizens. None can doubt who have seen what they have accomplished without the aid which civilized people enjoy. Let no word or act be brought home to the American soldier that discredits or disparages these Moros. Let it be the unremitting effort of every officer and soldier to assist and elevate them, a sacred duty which is devolved upon the Army, an added burden which must be borne; and every American relies upon our troops to execute this sacred trust. So far there has been no act of wanton despoilment, injury or insult; let none ever be charged to an American soldier. Our flag is an emblem of freedom and honor, and it remains with you that it shall become such an emblem to the Moros, and ever so remain.
(Sgd.) George W. Davis,
Brigadier General, U. S. A.,
Commanding Seventh Separate Brigade.
FIFTH.
HEADQUARTERS LAKE LANAO EXPEDITION,
CAMP VICARS (Mind.), P. I., May 7, 1902.
Announcement:
The commanding officer appreciates the gallantry of his regiment. The encounter of the 19th, 20th, and 21st of April, ending in the capture of Fort Pualos, and on May 2d in the capture of nine fortified positions and the final overcoming of a most desperate enemy, in a thoroughly equipped fortification known as Fort Pandapatan, where our losses were far greater than those of an ordinary battle, is the initial event in the history of the Regiment, and has set a high standard of valor and courage which will never be lowered as long as the 27th Infantry exists. He also desires to express his high appreciation of the gallantry and devotion to duty of the 25th Battery of Field Artillery, and desires that they consider the foregoing remarks concerning his regiment apply equally to them.
(Sgd.) F. D. Baldwin,
Colonel, Comd'g 27th Infantry.
SERMON ON "COURAGE."
Following is a copy of the admirable sermon preached by Chaplain George D. Rice of the 27th Infantry, to the troops of the Lake Lanao Expedition, on the Sunday following the battle of Bayan:
"I am going to speak to you to-day on courage, and how I saw it displayed on May 2d, while you were engaged in open combat with the Moros.
"There was a time when I thought that true courage was the absence of fear. But after witnessing the battle of this week I have seen that which has caused me to think differently now, because you demonstrated to me on that day that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it. Surely, yours was the highest order of courage.
"I recollect when 'E' Company came to re-enforce. I turned and watched three men in skirmish line coming through the tall grass under heavy fire from the fort. They knew they were coming into the thickest of the fire, but the interval in that line was correct, every piece right, no shouting or noise of any sort. Simply a perfect line of determined men coming up to take part.
"'Tis more than courage, I thought. It is order, it is discipline and coolness. And the wounded! Such courage! One man struck in the leg. We would help him to the rear; but no, he could crawl and refused help. Another hit in the right arm, and he laughed. Then a bullet struck his left arm and he only smiled and said: 'They did not treat me like this in the Panay campaign.'
"Lieut. Wagner was shot in the stomach and leg, and said to me: 'My only regret is to leave the fort with my work unfinished.' I saw one soldier whom I supposed was dead, I pulled a shelter-half over him; just then a soldier came running by. An officer shouted, 'Where are you going?' 'My ammunition is all gone,' replied the man. I saw the shelter-half move. In a moment my supposed dead man was sitting upright. He removed his belt containing a few cartridges and gave it to the soldier. I wish I could remember this man, but there were twenty or thirty dead and wounded near there, and they were doing brave and unexpected things like this all the time.
"Brave Vicars fell, mortally wounded, leading 'F' Company. Lieut. Jossman had hardly time to assume command when he, too, was shot, leaving 'F' Company without an officer, yet his finely disciplined company held its line perfectly. A bullet struck Captain Moore in the head, and as he rolled into one of the ditches he was heard to say, 'Do not retreat.' I saw a wounded soldier making a noble effort to get out of the line of fire. Who would help him? 'I'm going to help that man if I die for it,' I heard someone say, as the man repeatedly tottered and fell, with a terrible wound in his side. I looked, and in a moment brave Lieut. Bickham, tall and strong, was facing the numerous shot and shell to save his man, and he succeeded. A bullet passed through Major Scott's hat, grazed his head, and brought the Major to his knees, but this officer remained on the line.
"During that awful fight I saw officers and men leave their positions in front of those terrible portholes for two reasons only—either because wounded or to get more ammunition.
"There were hundreds of instances of heroism occurring about that fort. When Lieut. Fulmer called for volunteers to scale the walls, dozens of men responded. Lieuts. Hawkins and Wilson performed noble service, and were a credit to themselves and their regiment. Battalion Adjutant Drum, with his face smeared with powder and the dust of battle, was as cool as he was courageous. Captains Phillips, Rogers, Lyons and Hutton were with their respective commands, encouraging their men and doing excellent service.
"It was surely a high order of courage that caused Sgt. Graves to swing himself over the outer stockade of Binidayan when the fanatic Moro and his knife could be seen above. It was courage of the most godly type that took Corporal McGoveren down into the trenches to prop up the heads of wounded men and give them water, while fighting, biting, dying Moros occupied the same trenches. It was kingly courage on the part of Corpl. Keeler, who, when shot in the leg, refused help, and said to me, 'I can get to the rear alone, sir; help someone else.' It was courage of the Christian soldier that inspired Sergt. Major Ingold and Sergt. McCarthy, both wounded, to speak words of hope to their comrades.
"The courage displayed by the Moros was very different. The Moros were caught in a trap. They knew it, and they fought the desperate fight of their lives. You can drive a mouse into a corner like this, and he, too, will turn. Bravery through necessity is not the true courage which comes of Christ.
"Officers and soldiers of the 27th Infantry, I congratulate you to-day. You have been tested and shown what you can do. You deserve credit for what you did, and it is my earnest desire that the credit be equally divided. When you write home to your people and tell them of the gallant victory of the 27th Regiment, I want you to remember to speak of others whose presence and deeds rendered it possible for you to accomplish what you did. I want you to remember the officers and enlisted men of the 25th Battery. After the work of the battery was done, the members of the battery came to the front with litters made of rifles, bamboo poles, ponchos, and shelter-halves, with which they picked up many wounded and took them to the surgeon. These men came to the line in squads, each with litters, asking for wounded men, and several wounded men owe their lives to these brave batterymen. They would go anywhere to get a wounded man. They faced the thickest of the fire. A wounded man was pointed out in a bunch of grass, and the bullets struck there so fast that one could see the grass cut off. But these Artillerymen went there, and in a few moments had the man safe in a litter. And all night these noble fellows kept up the work. They took wounded from the jungles, the trenches and the open, and carried them to a place of safety. Let us never forget the work of the officers and men of the 25th Battery.
"Captain McNair, and Lieutenants Clark, Sunderland, and Deems of this battery are worthy of our praise and thanks. Major Porter, surgeon, tried to get on the line to treat a wounded man when a shot struck him and brave Porter had to be taken to the rear. Just behind him I saw hospital corps man Johnson also trying to reach a wounded man when Johnson fell into one of the terrible and dark pitfalls of the enemy, but got out later and did good work with the wounded. Young Dr. Allan deserves credit for dressing numberless wounds of officers and men in the trenches close to the fort and under fire that day. Drs. LeCompte and Grabenstatter worked like heroes. Major Anderson, chief surgeon of the expedition, made every preparation possible for the care of the wounded officers and enlisted men. The entire medical corps remained up all night attending to the wounded. They deserve great credit for their work on that rainy, chilly and dark night under the fire of the enemy.
"And do not forget the men of the pack-train. Do you know that these men brought a pack-train of ammunition to you over the slippery dangerous trail that night?
"Captains Shuttleworth and Andrus, Lieutenants Peck and Fries and their packers worked hard for you. They toiled constantly until they had every wounded officer and man supplied with tentage, cots, blankets, and clean clothes. Likewise, kindly remember the engineers and signal corps men. Their work in this expedition will never be forgotten. Our commanding officer, Colonel Baldwin, never rested that night. He was up and planning for the morrow and for you. General Davis and his orderly and a small guard rode many miles that night to the next camp below to arrange for more troops to come up."
Thus spoke Chaplain Rice, equally dividing the credit of the victory, and praising all for their part taken in the battle. But in all his words there is one thing that he failed to do, which is characteristic of this noble man. He failed to mention his own gallant services, of which too much praise cannot be given. Almost from the beginning of hostilities he was on the firing line, and up near the fort, speaking words of cheer and comfort to the men in the trenches, and "God bless the chaplain," are the words of every man of the Lake Lanao Expedition.
James Edgar Allen.
