{ title: 'The Butte Miner (Butte, Mont.) 18??-1928, October 24, 1899, Page 12, Image 12', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about Chronicling America - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn84024810/1899-10-24/ed-1/seq-12.png', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn84024810/1899-10-24/ed-1/seq-12.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn84024810/1899-10-24/ed-1/seq-12/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn84024810/1899-10-24/ed-1/seq-12/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
About The Butte Miner (Butte, Mont.) 18??-1928 | View This Issue
The Butte Miner (Butte, Mont.), 24 Oct. 1899, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn84024810/1899-10-24/ed-1/seq-12/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
T H E BUTTE MINER. o f the governm ent, but acted as banker for them A fter leaving the arm y M a jor Drennan settled in the Gallatin valley near Bozem a n and became a pros perous farm er. The love of m ilitary life, however, had a firm hold upon him and in 1889, he was one of the prominent men who organized at Bozeman, Troop B of the Montana militia. H e joined the cavalry com pany as a private, but four days later became first lieutenant, which position he held until May 9, 1890, when he becam e captain o f the troop. On June 23 he w a s transferred from the cavalry and became m a jor o f the M ontana regiment of infantry. One o f G overnor Smith’s first acts upon taking up the duties of chief executive of the state, was to ap point M a jor D ren' nan adjutant gener al of the Montana N a tional guard. He w a s holding that po sition when war was declared a g a i n s t . Spain. He did splen did service in getting the Montana regi m ent ready to be m u stered into the service ana tnen, at his own request, was permitted to re sign the office of ad ju tan t general to take his old position of m a jor in tne reg iment, which meant active service. M a jor D r e n n a n served faithfully in the Philippines and with distinction and credit. ±ie, however, contracted B r ight’s disease there, and after an illness of tw o months surren dered to that terri- rible ailment. The news of his death created pr o f o u n d sorrow throughout the state. He was well known and was prom inent in several fraternal orders and had served one term as clerk and recorder of Gallatin county. M a jor Drennan was one of those men that w’herever he was placed he did his duty and did it well. He w a s a man of pleasant disposition, and o f few words, but his word was as good as his bond. A true patriot, he was faithful unto death. eral of the division and a copy of which was sent to Captain Bradshaw by M a jor M allory. It tells the story in an official way, devoid of all coloring, but with details that cannot but serve to insure its absolute accuracy. Being the story of the only fatality to a Montana officer which occurred on the field of battle it will be historical. H ere is what M a jor M a llory says of the affair: “ Sir: I have the honor to subm it the follow ing report: It having been reported to the division com mander about 8 a. m., February 23, that insurgents ap proaching from the rear had driven in to the K a n sas headquarters at Caloocan church, the outpost of a non-com m issioned officer and eight men, stationed in *»»> CO. L, HELENA, CAPT. A. L. DU NC AN . Heroic Death of Lieut. E. S. French. “ W a lter, there’s not much chance for a lieutenant to distinguish him self in this affair. I wish I could do som ething to gain a nam e for m y s e lf.” These remarks were addressed by Second Lieutenant Eugene S. French of Com pany L, more popu larly known a s “ i'e t e ” .b'reacn, un der a sneiter tent where botn were ly ing, to Fuse l i e u tenant uiuvv tain) W a lter J. Bradshaw, previous to tne engagem ent before Caioocan in w h ich the gallant H elena man iost ins l i f e . Lieutenant Frencn had been eager ever since the trouble began to do some t h i n g t h a t would distingui s h himself. Before an other twenty - four hours had passed he w a s both distin guished and dead. Brave as a lion he had for a moment forgotten that he was a soldier whose duty it was to kill, and becom e the gallant fellow who thought it his duty to save. The insurgents were leaving the posi tion he was left to watch. They, or some of them at least, were m a k ing signs as though they wished to surrender. The fire of the small band “ Pete” French com m a n d ed was stopped w h ile the lieutenant called to the fleeting Filipinos to com e in and they would be protected. In doing so he exposed himself. It was then that a treacherous shot—some say from among the trees, the official report thinks from a neighboring hut—cut short his life. So m a n y stories have been written o f the affair that an official report now in the possession of his most intim a te friend will be of interest to those who knew Lieutenant French. It is in the shape of a letter sent by Inspector General John M a llory of the Second di vision of the Eighth arm y corps to the adjutant gen the car shed on the road to Caloocan, and had seized the car shed and occupied it and the stone bridge on that road over the canal, the division com mander di rected me to take Com pany L, First Montana infantry, and, proceeding with it by rail, to detrain and recon- noiter the country from the Solis road, running west from Lico to the Caloocan road; to the vicinity of the position occupied by the insurgents, with a view of developing the strength of the enemy and reporting the same. “ Com pany L, as it reported at the train, consisted of two officers, First Lieutenant W . J. Bradshaw and Second Lieutenant E. S. French, and 46 enlisted men. I was also accom p a n ied by an enlisted man of the Twentieth Kansas, who wras a mem ber of the outpost driven in and who had been slightly wounded in the hand. H a v ing arrived at the crossing of the railroad and the Solis road, I stopped the train and sent de tachments to reconnoiter as far as Lico to the east and Caloocan road to the west. “ No signs of the enem y were seen east o f the rail road. I accom panied the detachm ents reconnoitering to the west and when the Caloocan road was reached a number of shots were fired at us from the direc tion of the road. But it being evident that no insur gents were in the im m ediate vicinity of the Solis road I returned to the train and posted a detachm ent of a non-com m issioned officer and ten men in a good posi tion at the crossing o f the railroad and the Solis road, with instructions to send a patrol frequently as far as the Caloocan road. I then proceeded with the rest of the com p a n y to a point slightly north of east of the stone bridge occupied by the insurgents. Here Lieu tenant French was left with a suitable guard for the train. “ W ith Lieutenant Bradshaw and the remainder of the com p a n y I then proceeded cautiously to recon noitre the country between the railroad and the Ca loocan road. As we entered the timber skirting the series of dykes, ponds and marshes intervening be tween us and the Caloocan road, the insurgents opened a hot fire from the timber south and from the dykes and the br i d g e southwest of us. Lieutenant B r a d shaw with half of the com p a n y moved by the right flank across the bamboo foot bridge and par tially screened by a dyke, engaged at short range the in surgents who were similarly s h e l t e r e d by dykes, one insur gent being killed and others severely wounded w i t h i n forty paces and one of cur men also wounded. I moved the remainder of the comDany in extend ed order through the timber in our front and in the face of a hot fire drove the insurgents from their shelter in the timber and from be hind n i p a h u t s across the dykes to the positions of the main body at the car shed and stone bridge. H a v ing defi nitely ascerta i n e d that the insurgents held the latter positions with a strong force, I left the com pany occupying a sheltered position where they could observe the movements of the enemy, and according to instructions returned to headquarters with the train and reported the situa tion to the division commander. This report having been transmitted to the corps com m a n d er and a reply received that several com panies unaer M a jor Goodale, Tw e n ty-third infantry, would be im mediately dis patched from town to drive out the insurgents, I was directed to return to the com p a n y and keep the enemy un der observation un til M a jor Goodale’s battalion should dis lodge them. I re turned and having seen that the com pany was suitably posted, st a t i o n e d m y self with Lieu tenant French near the left flank in an Advanced position, nearly due east of the bridge. Soon the near approach of M a jor G o o d a l e ’ s troops was evident and when the insur gents began to flee and expose them selves fire was open ed on them from our left flank, enfilading them and prevent ing their escape across the dykes, while Lieu t e n a n t Bradshaw in their rear prevented their escaping by the Ca loocan road. “ At this juncture Lieutenant fren c h , seeing a number of natives who were waving their hats and apparently making signs that they wished to surrender, stood up and exposing him self called them to some over to him and they would be safe, using some Spanish phrases as well as English so that he might be understood, and at the same time our men ceased firing. W h ile Lieutenant French was still calling and making signs a shot, fired apparently from a hut near the group he was trying to save, struck him in the chest, and falling to the ground he expired alm ost instantly. W h en killed he was about twenty yards to the left and front of the com pany, at a point wThere he had stationed a few men in the best position to observe the enemy. His body was carried to the train on an im provised litter and sent to the city. “ Lieutenant French throughout the day showed great coolness and bravery and lost his life while at- CO. M, AN ACONDA, CAPT. JNO. HALLAHAN.
Page
All Pages
