Battle
The battle began while Lawton and his men were en route to San Mateo and received fire from Filipinos under the cover of dense jungle and secure trenches in the town. Very few of the enemy were even visible.
Lawton's forces dug in and engaged in a fierce fire-fight. A team of Filipino sharpshooters known as the "Tiradores del Muerte" ("Marksmen of Death") set up position 300 yards (270 m) away. Having shrugged off cautionary warnings from his officers, Lawton walked up and down the line, rallying his men. A sharpshooter shot Lawton and killed him instantly.
The death of their commander was a terrible blow to Lawton's men, who took scores of casualties without successfully retaliating. Part of the reason that they could not dent the enemy positions was that, as a Filipino rifleman fell dead or wounded, a large number of bolomen were ready to take his rifle and keep a steady stream of heavy fire. When they eventually withdrew, it took almost a day to bear Lawton's body through thicket and mud to Manila, for funeral rites at Paco Cemetery. Lawton is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Paye
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“Above the bayonets, mixed and crossed,
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—Will Henry Thompson (1848–1918)
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—Ann Landers (b. 1918)