John Henry Asendorf in uniform The War Diary of John Henry Asendorf
The Story of a Pennsylvania Volunteer during the Spanish-American War in the Philippines and the Philippine American War

Interesting Finds

While going through the diary, I sometimes come across what I think of as "interesting finds" - items which expose a little bit about a man whose blood runs through my veins yet I never knew. This page is a list of some of those items.

  • "I Killed both of them with the but of my Gun"
    There has been a story in my family for a long time about my great-grandfather killing three men with his rifle where he shot one, bayoneted a second and killed the third with the butt of his rifle. This entry may be the real story.
  • First Sergeant Martin and Private De Bolt attend the Proclamation of Independence in Malolos
    Although I don't think John Henry Asendorf knew it at the time, he writes of two men from his company travelling to, what I believe to be, Malolos on September 29, 1898 for "a big day." This would have been the time and place of the signing of the Proclamation of Independence by the Malolos Congress. The following day he says the men believed the Filipinos to be "much more intelligent than we first considered and think the[y] are able to take [care] of them self."
  • The Army Giveth, The Army Taketh Away
    I have my great-grandfather's 1873 Trapdoor Springfield rifle. Seems the Army didn't find it sufficient so they gave him a Krag-Jørgenson. Then, as they were leaving... they took it away and gave him back his Springfield. Looks like the majority of his fighting was done with his Springfield.
  • Comparing Notes
    See the similarities and the differences between a commanding officer's and JH Asendorf's recollections of July 31, 1898. My favorite difference is who went and got more ammunition.
  • A Vote for the Prohibitionist Candidate?
    Seems that my great-grandfather was only one of two men in the company to cast a vote for Prohibitionist Candidate Dr. Silas C. Swallow for Governor of Pennsylvania.

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