The Concord, when she returned to report the matter to the admiral, bore a letter from Captain Coghlan of the Raleigh begging that the Spaniards captured be made American prisoners, and that they be not turned over to the insurgents, as Admiral Dewey's original orders demanded. The Concord was sent back with instructions to turn the prisoners over to Aguinaldo, but he exacted an ironclad promise that they should be well and carefully cared for.
Finally Admiral Dewey sent an officer to the German flagship with a request that Admiral Diederichs make a statement of the German attitude in the matter of the blockade of Manila. The German admiral sent an immediate explanation. Two days later, however, he sent a protest to Admiral Dewey against the action of American officers in boarding German ships coming to Manila from Marivles. He cited the incident of the McCulloch and the Irene at Corregidor.
Admiral Dewey replied to this very courteously but very firmly. He pointed out to the German admiral that international law gave to the commander of a blockading fleet authority to communicate with all ships entering a blockaded port. As international law permitted warships to fly any flag they chose in order to deceive the enemy, the nationality of vessels entering the bay could not be absolutely determined without communicating with them. For the German admiral's further information Admiral Dewey told him that if Germany was at peace with the United States the German naval officers would have to change their methods, and that if Germany was at war with his nation he desired to know it at once in order that he might act accordingly.
The Philippine insurgents under Aguinaldo continued their savage attacks, and gradually closed in on the city of Manila. They were working independently of the American forces under General Merritt, and it was apparent that they did not intend to recognize American authority. The Spanish residents of Manila, fearing that the capture of the city by Aguinaldo would be followed by pillage and slaughter, appealed to the captain-general to surrender to the American forces, but that official was determined to resist, in the face of the fact that resistance could only delay defeat.
BATTLE IN A STORM.
On the night of July 31 the soil of the Philippines was drenched with American blood. Our troops were strengthening their position near the Spanish fort guarding the southern approach to Manila, in the suburbs of that city. The Spanish, knowing their situation to be growing every day more hopeless, made a concerted sortie on the American right flank, held by the 10th Pennsylvania troops. The scene of the battle was at a place called Malate, which is located half way between Cavite and the city of Manila. Here General Greene was in command of 4,000 men. The arrival of the third expedition filled the Spaniards with rage, and they determined to give battle before Camp Dewey could be re-enforced. In the midst of a raging typhoon, with a tremendous downpour of rain, 3,000 Spanish soldiers attempted to surprise the camp. The American pickets were driven in and the trenches assaulted. The Pennsylvania troops did not flinch, but stood their ground under a withering fire. The alarm spread and the 1st California regiment, with two companies of the 3rd artillery, who fought with rifles, were sent up to re-enforce the Pennsylvanians. The enemy was on top of the trenches when these re-enforcements arrived, and never was the discipline of the regulars better demonstrated than by the work of the 3rd artillery under Captain O'Hara. Nothing could be seen but the flash of Mauser rifles. The Utah battery, under Captain Young, covered itself with glory. The men pulled their guns through mud axle deep, and poured in a destructive enfilading fire.
The enemy was repulsed and retreated in disorder. Our infantry had exhausted its ammunition and did not follow. Not an inch of ground was lost, but the scene in the trenches was one never to be forgotten. During the flashes of lightning the dead and wounded could be seen lying in blood-red water, but neither the elements of heaven nor the destructive power of man could wring a cry of protest from the wounded. They encouraged their comrades to fight and handed over their cartridge belts.
The fighting was renewed on the night of August 1, and again the following evening, but the enemy had been taught a lesson, and made the attacks at long range with heavy artillery. The total American loss was fourteen killed and forty-four wounded. The Spaniards had 350 killed and over 900 wounded.
On August 5 the Spaniards again attacked the American outworks. The trenches were occupied by a battalion each of the 14th and 23rd regulars and Nebraska volunteers, the latter holding the extreme right and a company of regulars the extreme left. They returned the Spanish fire and the battle lasted for a half an hour. Three Americans were killed, and eleven wounded, four of them seriously.