Lieut. Conger
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The Morgan City sailed from San Francisco on August 11, with 675 recruits under command of
Major W. Wittich, 21st Inf;
First Lieut and Quartermaster Carter, 4th Inf;
First Lieut Bates, 25th Inf;
Second Lieut Conger, 18th Inf;
Second Lieut Hurst, 3rd Inf.
The ship was under the command of Captain Doris.
Striking upon a reef at 3 o'clock in the morning, the ship remained fast until daylight, when by adopting the expedient of pushing the men alternately from one side to the other, the ship was rolled from the rocks into deep water, where she at once began to fill rapidly. She headed for the shore of the island of Inoshima, several miles distant, sinking perceptibly 1 with every yard of progress. She made the beach barely a minute before otherwise going under. All men were gotten ashore in safety.
The day was spent in removing stores, the transport lying very nearly bows under, but well afloat in the after part.
As no precautions were taken to make the bow fast to the shore after beaching, she slid off the steep beach without warning late in the afternoon and sunk in about six fathoms.
This article is a work in progress. Should new materials provide more details, or a review of current materials indicates errors, this article will be edited accordingly.
If the soldier's listed name is different from his actual name, or if a different spelling exists, the actual or alternative name is enclosed in parenthesis.
Sources for this article include:
1. Letter of Pvt Chris Miller, H 18th US Inf
2. 18th U.S. Infantry Regimental reports
3. Newspaper articles about the sinking of Morgan City
- RMC
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THE 18TH U.S. INFANTRY REGIMENT
THE SINKING OF THE TRANSPORT MORGAN CITY IN JAPAN
AND THE TOWN OF CABATUAN, ILOILO, PHILIPPINES
DURING THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR (SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR)
© Cabatuan.com (Cabatuan, Iloilo, Philippines)
All Rights Reserved
Company H, 18th U.S. Infantry.
Participated in Iloilo landing, Feb 11 1899;
and Cabatuan offensive, Nov 1899.
Garrisoned Cabatuan May 1900 to Sep 1901.
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On September 2, 1899, the United States Army transport "Morgan City," a chartered steamship, sunk while making passage through the Inland Sea of Japan. The transport was on its way from San Francisco to the Philippines, carrying recruits for the U.S. Army regiments in the Philippine-American War.
Another transport, the Ohio, was immediately dispatched on September 5, 1899 from Manila to retrieve the stranded troops in Japan, arriving back in Manila on September 19, 1899.
Of the 675 recruits on board the Morgan City, 206 were bound for the 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment stationed in Iloilo. They were led by Lieut Arthur L. Conger. After spending two days in Manila, they took another ship to Iloilo, where they arrived on September 23, 1899, and joined their respective companies the same day.
The recruits came in time to participate in the American Cabatuan Offensive of November 1899, with the main column of 4 battalions going to Cabatuan by way of Tigbauan, and a smaller column of two battalions going to Cabatuan by way of Pavia. The two forces met and captured Cabatuan, the insurgent capital, on November 23, 1899.
Twelve of the recruits aboard Morgan City that were bound for Company H 18th US Infantry were still with that company when it later garrisoned Cabatuan from May 1900 to September 1901. They were:
Robert E. Austill,
Nicholas Bauer,
John I. Beard (initial T),
Frank L. Bliss,
Charles H. Grant,
William A. Johnson,
John H. Johnson,
Chris A. Miller,
Harry H. Pierce,
Arthur K. Taylor,
Walter M. Tibbetts and
James Wheeler.
A thirteenth recruit, Charles Harris, arrived for Company E, but he later transferred companies and was with Company H when it garrisoned Cabatuan.
Rounding up the recruits for the 18th Infantry Regiment on board Morgan City:
Band 18th U.S. Inf
Adam G. Barker,
Neil Gillies,
George H. Hays and
Joseph Muller.
Company A 18th U.S. Inf
James J. Acker,
Benny H. Adcock (Bennie),
John H. Aha (initial N),
Peter F. Algier,
Henry Anderson,
Clarence E. Baird,
William Barber,
Benjamin A. Barker,
Joseph E. Barrett,
Gregory Bartram,
Tracy C. Baseley,
Frederick Baxter,
William G. Beard,
Donald A. Beaton,
Harry J. Becker,
David Bevan and
Alfred E. Biffi.
Company B 18th U.S. Inf
Clarence E Blakeney,
James G. Bloom,
William C. Bolin,
George L. Borden,
Arthur R. Brock,
Edward P. Brett,
Gilbert E. Boise,
Michael Brylsky,
William J. Buel,
Fred R. Burge,
John Bush,
Roy J. Bush,
John V. Caffrey,
Henry E. Cole,
William M Camp,
Boyd Campbell,
Charles F. Carleton (Carlton),
Marshall E. Carpenter (initial C) and
Joseph Carter.
Company C 18th U.S. Inf
Arthur H. Jordan,
Martin H. Swenk,
Edwin O. Saunders,
Frank Finch,
Thomas Manning,
Pery Carter,
Leroy Caster,
Irvin P. Chambers,
Clarence L. Clark,
William C. Clauson (Clausen),
Edward Cocker,
Daniel F. Cody,
Joseph Farrell,
John C. Feeley,
Charles Felix,
Frank Fischer,
John J. Flynn,
Ward P. Foster,
Homer H. Furnas,
Hardie H. Furnas and
Joseph Gassman.
Company D 18th U.S. Inf
Edward L. Canfield and
Walter J. George.
Company D 18th U.S. Inf
Russell C. Gill,
Leversee M. Gillett,
Andrew Gillon (initial J),
Bernard Gilroy,
Lewis G. Green,
Ernest O. Grant,
George O. Hall,
Iber V. Hall,
Samuel P. Hallock,
Samuel H. Hamilton and
John J. Hannigan.
Company E 18th U.S. Inf
John Clarke (Clark),
Theodore Hanson,
Jeff E. Hardnett (initial C),
James T. Hare,
Charles Harris (initial D),
Coe E. Harris,
Gust Harrison,
Joseph Hartmann,
James S. Haskins,
Joseph Hassmann,
Gustav Henningsen,
Charles C. Henry,
Frank A. Herrick,
Frederick C. Hill,
Theodore Hills,
Patrick F. Henley (Hurley),
Bernard F. Ives and
Frank L. Jackson.
Company F 18th U.S. Inf
Walter C. Clark,
Evan Jenkins,
Frederick C. Johnson,
James Kale,
William J. Kent,
Frank Krines,
John M. Kleiber (Klaiber),
Adam S. Kliderline (Klidarline),
Joseph H. Knutson,
Carl Krans,
Samuel E. Karshner,
Edward F. Knester,
John Lannaville,
Alma D. Lanyon,
Henry Larson (Larsen),
Walter Leach,
Herman Leshner (Lechner),
Harvey L. Leemon,
Austin W. Leidy and
Otto A. Lindell.
Company G 18th U.S. Inf
Edward A. Rambo,
Perry E. Marsh (Percy),
Benjamin F. Jones,
Stephen M. Mitchell (Steven),
Henry O. Johnstone (initial A),
John J. Mahoney,
John Linden,
John B. Jenkins,
Charles H. Calver,
Thomas K. Martin,
Fred R. Major,
Charles J. Major and
Frank Mayo.
Company H 18th U.S. Inf
Robert E. Austill,
Nicholas Bauer,
John I. Beard (initial T),
Frank L. Bliss,
Robert Godfrey,
Charles H. Grant,
William A. Johnson,
John H. Johnson,
Frank J. Kenny,
Louis Morris,
James B. Morrison,
Chris A. Miller,
Elmer F. Noah,
Harry H. Pierce,
Arthur K. Taylor,
Walter M. Tibbetts and
James Wheeler.
Company I 18th U.S. Inf
Denis Condon,
Isaac C. Conrad,
Israel Cork,
Davis B. Courtney (David),
Walter H. Cowan (Cowern),
James N. Craig,
Andrew Crichton,
William J. Crine,
Charles A. Duncan,
Daniel P. Dunkerly,
Maurice Drisko,
Gustaf Ekland (Eklund),
John Fagan and
Walter L. Farrar.
Company K 18th U.S. Inf
John J. Riley,
Walter J. Chettam (Chittum),
Thomas D. Byram,
Charles W. Clark,
William L. Davis,
John H. Denny,
Edward F. Duffy,
Ben M. Elledge,
William Ham,
John J. Healy,
Samuel W. Hearsh (Hersh),
Patrick Kelly,
Maynard W. Mosher,
William O'Brien,
Frank A. Arado,
George C. Bellar,
William Crespen,
George W. Collier,
George Craig,
Edward J. Dunn,
Charles Feldman and
Samuel A. Jenkins.
Company L 18th U.S. Inf
Graham Parker,
Charles A. Coleman,
Louis A. Weatherford,
Seward J. Norton (Seiward),
Henry Mass (initial C),
Elliott M. Norton,
William H. Lock,
Frank Jones and
Fred Gallagher.
Company M 18th U.S. Inf
John Cronin,
Patrick Crowe,
Clifford Culver,
Oliver Cunningham,
Mark Curtsinger,
William J. Davidson,
Arthur S. Davis and
George W. Davis.
Company M 18th U.S. Inf
Silas O. Davis,
Harvey Day,
Guss R. Dean,
William S. Deaton,
William H. Dedrick,
William Derricks,
John J. Dill (initial I),
Frank Dobbins,
John W Dorsey,
Jay Doxstader and
Harry G. Drake.
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