Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1899 — From Far “Elo Elo.” [ARTICLE]

From Far “Elo Elo.”

A Rensselaer Boy’s Experience in the Philippines. Leonard Jessup, a native of this county and formerly living in Rensselaer, is now with the Ist. Tennessee regiment in the Philippines. His regiment, or a part of it at least, is now located at Iloilo, (pronounced elo elo) on a different island from where the principal fighting is. The following letter was written to his brother Lee Jessup in this place. It took over six weeks to get here and the postage was 20 cents. Iloilo, Philippine Island, April 15, ’99. Dear Brother and to All:

Your letter of Feb., sth 1899 reached me yesterday, I was pleased to hear from you and ever ready to answer your kind and inquiring letters, but to begin with I wish to say that it has been impossible to get any news whatever from the different regiments and different Islands. We left Manila on Feb. Bth, and have learned nothing since, so I can tell nothing about how the war is going only what I have been through or seen withmy own eyes. You may be sure I have seen a plenty to do me for some time. I was in the fight three days and three nights at Manila. It was a warm time on both sides. We were called in and ordered to Iloilo which is over 300 miles south of Manila. We landed on the 11th of Feb., we had a warm time and considerable skirmishing with the enemy. I was one of the first on land and before the Gun Boat Petrel and Boston quit throwing shells into the city, we had taken the rebels’ flag from their fort and raised the flag of Old Glory to float forever more over the City of Iloilo. This was one day we shall never forget. The shot and shell were screaming in the air all around us, occasionally a mauser’s bullet would punch a hole in some of the boy’s hats or clothes, but fortunately no one was hurt to speak of, but after we got on land was where the trouble began, the entire city was on fire and many were the beautiful homes that went up in tbe flames. Over 200 nice stores and all their contents were burned to the ground, and some people suffocated in the flames. There are about 50 buildings left, and out of forty thousand people that were here there is about 200 left in the city. Perhaps you have learned all this from the newspapers, and without doubt you know more about how the war is going than I do. On Feb. 20th, I was promoted to clerk in the Sale and Subsistence department of the Chief Commissary and I have not been out to the front since. The boys have trouble night and day with the insurgents. A person never knows when he is going to run upon some of these rebels. They keep themselves under cover most all the time, either behind strong intrenchments or under thick spreading mango trees, but mostly in bamboo thickets. This is what the Americans most face in the conquest of the Philippines for it looks as though Aqninaldo has made the game in some desperate throw and we must fight or play it out to the end. They think almost as much of a knife as they do a gun, -they are badly armed and there is but few of their arms ever been oaptnred for if you kill one there is a dozen ready to grab np his arms. Many I have helped stick in the ground bat we never get his gun. On the 16th of March we made a charge on one of their block houses and ran them away, we got a big lot of their powder and lead and their loading tools, although it was a dearly charge for there were 2 men killed