Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1898 — Jack Leahy Is In a Battle. [ARTICLE]

Jack Leahy Is In a Battle.

John, or as he is now called, Jack Leahy, a former Rensselaer boy, now with the sth U.'S. regular cavalry, has had more real fighting in the Spanish war than most any other Jasper county boy, so far as keard from, unless it is Arthur Lakins. He is now in Porto Rico, and under date of Aug. 23, writes to his uncle, E. P. Honan, an interesting letter describing his experiences, from which we extract the following: “We left Ponce Aug. Bth and marched 12 miles and camped at a block house where the Spaniards had been. Next morning we broke camp and marched about 9 miles and camped at a town named Yuaco. We stayed there until five o’clock in the evening and made a night march of 7 miles to the front and camped until morning. We were within three miles of the enemy’s lines. At six o'clock every man marched out of camp with the full determination of wiping the Spaniards off of the face of the earth. My troop was in tho lead and I was glad. We marched very slow as we expected to sight the enemy every minute, about 10 o'clock we halted and the qaptain called for 10 volunteers to go for a bunch of guerillas off to our right and I was one of them. We chased them for about 3 miles with poor results and returned to the troop. The troop was the advance guard of the army. We had not gone more than a mile when two shots were fired and we knew the ball was opened. The r» command was given to dismount and fight on foot, which was done with quietness and alacrity. We found a skirmish line and made into them. The Mausers were popping and the bullets began to whistle, but you couldn't sea a Spaniard. Finally Capt. McComb spied the Spaniard and the command w T as given to fire at will. Well, we soon give them all they wanted. The enemy retreated back towards the town and us after them. We run them until they got out out of sight and then we returned to our horses. On our way back we could see signs of men being wounded, big pools of blood in the road, hats, shoes, Mauser rifles and amunition, were scattered everywhere. Not one of our men had recieved a scratch. We had about 60 men while the Spaniards had about 700. We waited until the Inf. came up and we pushed on again. The Inf. was composed of about 1200 men. The troop was sent to the right about a half mile and passed through a town named Almigaro. The town surrendered and we started to join the rest of the command, the town was situated on a high hill. Just ns tho troop got to the bottom of the hill the Spaniards fired three volleys into us but never touched a man. We cut a wire fence and got under cover in a banana grove and returned the fire. Wo had it hot and heavy for about an hour, How those bullets did whistle and how our gunß did pop. The Inf. joined in this. They were about 400 yds from us and some how or other they mistook us for the Spaniards and six companies loaded thoir piecos and were almost ready to pull trigger on us when they spied our guidon. If they had fired we would have been massacred. The boys certainly felt bud when they found out it was us, aud they fought like demons to make up for their blunder. The Spaniards could not stand our cross firing and retreated towards a town called Mavncuy. We pushed on again but had not gone more than a half of a mile when the ball opened upright, the Spaniards being on a hill and ns at the bottom. Well we sailed right into them, we charged up the hill and our troop was the first to the top. When wo got to the top the Spaniards were going down on the other side, we were Boon reinforced by the Inf. and Art. The Art. did effective work throwing shot and shell into whole lompanies of Spaniards. The

I scrap lasted till sundown, and after the roll was called we found that our side had 2 men killed and 15 wounded, not a man of the troop received a scratch it is something wonderful. The loss was 200 killed and wounded. So ended my first day’s scrap on the 10th of August. On the 13th we run onto the Spaniards again and fought for two hours, putting them ’to flight and capturing a lot of rifles and amunition and a complete set of band .instruments. Every man in the troop has got some souvenir. I have got an amunition box full of amunition and an insignia which they wear on their helmets. I could write forty pages of my experience here but have not got the paper nor money to get it. When I get home it will take me two weeks to tell you everything,”

JACK.